The Only Hope for Me is You
by livingdeadblondegirl
Summary: Niklaus Mikaelson is a single father but is also a business man who needs someone to take care of the kids for him. When their current nanny retires, he finds himself needing a replacement. When Stefan offers a solution, Klaus agrees to interview Caroline Forbes.
1. Prologue-Family Dinner

**Many Thanks and much love to my beta CeCeVolume for her help making sure that my writing isn't complete nonsense or one big runon sentence!**

**Also, thanks to Banana 71588 who has been listening to me rambling constantly about this story.**

Prologue

To anyone else, the house looked to be ruled by chaos. Dishes filled with dinner remnants on the large dining room table; toys, shoes and bags strung about; the sound of children screams and giggles while the adults sat around together. But it was the way that the monthly Mikaelson family dinner typically went.

This month, it was Finn and his wife Sage's turn to host, but it was the middle brother, Klaus and his life, that was the center of attention at the moment. "Ayanna told me today that she simply can't keep working for me."

"It's not surprising considering the way her health has deteriorated over the last year, especially the past few months," Elijah commented from his spot next to his wife Katherine.

Rebekah nodded in agreement. "Poor soul, it must have broken her heart to have to give it up. I know she loves and felt responsible for us after Mother died."

"So what do you plan to do?" Sage asked from her spot. She, like everyone else, knew that this news had caused an upheaval in her brother in law's life because Ayanna was not just a regular employee of the family's business, but a part of his household.

"I'm going to have to hire a replacement," Klaus answered simply; it was not as if he had a choice in the matter after all. However he valued his family's advice on such things, which was why he had brought up the discussion.

"You can't hire some stranger to look after them," Rebekah exclaimed. "Ayanna was one thing; she's practically family! But you are talking about hiring a stranger."

"What do you suggest I do Bekah?" Klaus asked. "These are my children and I have to do what is best for them. I need to not only make sure to provide for them, but to make sure that they are taken care of and since last time I checked, I can't be in two places at once. I'm going to need help."

"Let us help; we're family."

"And I can't rely on you lot forever. I am a grown man and they are my children. Business is flourishing and you all have your own lives. Finn and Sage have their three; soon Katherine will be too far along to have the energy to watch after Daniel let alone my two," Klaus argued as he looked at his sister in law. Katherine had had a hard time during her first pregnancy; so far the current one looked to be hard on her as well. He did not want to cause her undue stress, and he knew that Elijah worried enough for the two of them

"There's me…and Kol."

"I don't think having Kol as a one of the main caregivers for my children is the best idea…do you?" Klaus asked her, his eyebrow quirked in disbelief at her suggestion.

"Okay, probably not the best idea. Speak of the devil," Rebekah acquiesced just as Kol and Rebekah's fiancée Stefan returned.

When Stefan sat down next to her, he noticed the look on everyone's faces and asked. "What are you guys talking about so seriously?"

"Niklaus's need to hire a girl," Finn answered.

"Nik, you haven't gotten that desperate now have you that you are planning to hire a prostitute?" Kol asked. "I happen to know some girls who have low enough standards that they'd go for one of my less handsome brothers…"

"Oh, shut it, you prat. We're talking about Nik hiring a nanny!" Rebekah snapped.

"I might have a suggestion that can help you," Stefan interrupted in the attempt to stop the two youngest Mikaelson siblings from killing each other.

"Do tell, mate."

"My brother Damon's girlfriend has a friend who is looking for a job."

Klaus only rolled his eyes and scoffed at Stefan's suggestion. "That's not a solution; I'm not looking for some girl desperate for a job, with no clue what she is doing, to come in and take care of my children."

"That's the thing: she is a professional nanny."

"Who are you talking about? Have I met her?" Rebekah asked as she tried to rack her memories of the person that Stefan was talking about. She personally didn't care much for Elena, Stefan's brother's girlfriend, but they did socialize quite often along and she was familiar some of her friends

Stefan nodded. "Caroline."

Rebekah's brow furrowed. "I thought she was a teacher?"

"She studied early education at school, but she is a licensed nanny, one who is looking for a family since the one she has been working for over the past two years was transferred overseas." Stefan explained. "I think she'd be a good fit for you, Nik. She's smart, caring, and really loves her job; not to mention that she's organized and good at thinking outside the box. And that's what you definitely need, Nik; after all, you need someone who isn't your typical nanny. I have her number; I can contact her and have her forward everything to get things moving."

Klaus mulled over Stefan's words. He trusted Stefan; he might be his sister's fiancé but he had also become one of his closest friends and if he had such high opinion of this woman than he should at least check over her qualifications and interview her. To see if she would be a good fit for him and his family. "Do it."

**Author's Note**

**Here it is guys, hope you enjoyed it. I plan to post once a week until I can get more done of the story. Just wanted to forwarn you guys that this will not be a quick romance story but a slow build up. Just wanted to let you know so that you don't get frustrated**.


	2. Part 1 The Interview

****Author's Note: Wow, I can't believe the response that the prologue has gotten, 12 reviews and 38 Followers. Wow! I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy it. I decided to post a little early so I hope you enjoy it.**

**In this next part, you guys and Klaus get to meet Caroline.**

**Thanks to CeCeVolume again for betaing this for me, you're awesome.****

Part 1

Caroline Forbes studied the neighborhood as she walked purposefully to her destination. It was a beautiful area, one of her favorites in Boston, with its brownstones and gardens, and it would be a great place to live. And if Caroline got this job, she would.

To say Caroline was intrigued when she had received the text from Stefan was putting it mildly. She had met Rebekah Mikaelson several times at different get-togethers and had always found the woman to be somewhat distant towards her. Caroline didn't know if it was on purpose or just due to the fact that the two never really spent a lot of time talking. Either way, she didn't have any negative feelings toward her and hoped that the meeting with her brother went well.

Caroline had been looking for a new family for almost three months, ever since the Fells had gotten a last minute transfer to Hong Kong. Caroline had worked for them for two years, and it had been hard to let go of the kids, but she just couldn't take the offer that they had extended her to move with them and continue her job there. Instead, she helped to prepare the kids for the move and soon began the search for a new job. She had interviewed with a few families and thought they had been nice, but Caroline hadn't felt a connection with any of them yet. She was in no way desperate for a job and wanted to find the right one, but she was also eager to get back to work at a job she loved. And it looked like the Mikaelson's needed her as well.

According to the family profile, Niklaus was a single father to seven year old fraternal twins, Henrik and Alexandria. The children's mother was listed, Tatia Pierce Mikaelson, but it was also noted that Niklaus had sole custody of his children. Caroline found that interesting and had made a note to herself if she was offered the job to find out more. She needed to know if there were any legal issues that she should know about. He currently had a nanny who was planning to retire soon due to health reasons, and he was seeking a replacement. The profile also covered his line of work; Niklaus worked for his family business, the antiquities dealer 'Originals', as one of the five owners and in charge of the art acquisition and restoration department.

The address she was looking for came up and, after she took a deep breath and gave herself a once over, Caroline walked up the steps. She checked her watch and saw she was a few minutes early, but that didn't stop her from ringing the bell.

Caroline heard footsteps on the other side before the door opened to reveal one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen. He had curly dark blonde hair that was styled to look like it was his fingers had been ran through it, he had a strong jaw brushed with blonde stubble that surrounded a pair a ruby red full lips that were curled in a slight smirk. But the feature that stood out the most to her was his bright cerulean eyes that were studying her. Thankfully she found her voice quickly and hopefully hadn't embarrassed herself by staring; she really wished a picture had been in the file to prepare her. "Mr. Mikaelson, I presume?"

"Indeed I am," Klaus acknowledged as he studied the beautiful woman in front of him. "And that would make you Caroline Forbes?"

"Yes." Caroline replied as she stuck out her hand in greeting. His accent had taken her off guard again for a moment. True, she was aware that Rebekah had one, but hearing it in a deep male voice was something else entirely.

Klaus reached out and shook her hand before he stepped back, holding the door open for her to enter. "Please come in."

"Thank you," Caroline said as she stepped inside. The interior was warm and welcoming from the brisk fall air outside.

"May I take your jacket?" Klaus offered. Caroline nodded before she shrugged out of it and handed it over. As their fingers brushed, she noticed his felt unnaturally warm but she figured hers were just colder than she had thought.

"I thought we'd have the interview in the sitting room," Klaus announced before he lead her towards the back of the house. "At least for the first part of it, then you can meet Henry and Lexi who are upstairs. That is how the agency told me that these things are normally handled."

"Yes, typically," Caroline confirmed. Though the initial referral had been through word of mouth, all of the pre-interview paperwork had been done through the agency that Caroline was licensed through; it was the safest way for nannies to be paired with families and safest for the families as well.

As she walked, Caroline was able to see a bit of the main floor of the house. It was decorated in warm colors and dark wood; it looked well taken care of but also had a lived in a way that said a family resided there. As they entered the office, Caroline noticed that they weren't alone.

"I decided to have Rebekah join us; she is very close to my children and I value her opinion," Klaus stated as his sister nodded to Caroline.

"Caroline, pleasure to see you again."

"You as well, Rebekah," Caroline replied.

"Please have a seat and we'll get started," Klaus invited as he motioned to one of the open chairs.

Caroline withdrew some papers from the messenger bag she carried and handed them to the two before taking the proffered seat. "I know that the agency has already emailed you a digital copy of my file, but I brought hard copies for you to review in case there hasn't been time for you to look it over, considering how quickly this interview was set up. And if you have, I find it helps in case there are questions in reference to something on it."

"That was excellent forethought on your part. We have reviewed your file and I think we can skip all of the standard questions," Klaus announced. He allowed the appreciation for her efforts to be heard in his voice before he moved forward.

"However, I would like to hear a brief outline of yourself in your own words," Rebekah added.

Caroline nodded and began a verbal report of her profile; she kept it brief but made sure to hit various highlights that she felt was important to show who she was. She had been a nanny in some capacity since college so despite her age she had the experience and that gave her confidence.

"I can see that you are well educated, have several years of experience, and take your job very seriously," Klaus announced.

"I do," Caroline agreed.

"I must say that the section on skills threw me, it says that you have been certified in self-defense and are licensed to carry a handgun in Virginia and Massachusetts?" Klaus asked, intrigued.

Caroline smiled slightly at question. "While I would like to claim those as my own idea, those certifications come from being raised by the town Sheriff, who wanted to make sure that her daughter could take care of herself if needed."

Klaus smirked at her answer; he understood a parent's need to make sure that their children were always safe, even when they could be there themselves to do it. The world was a scary place, filled with even scarier people that would and did anything that they wanted, even if it hurt others. That line of thought brought another question to Klaus' mind that had not occurred to him until that moment. "Are you currently involved with anyone?"

Caroline's brow wrinkled in confusion. One minute he was smiling at her answer about the self-defense and now suddenly he was asking whether she was single? "I don't believe that is any of your business."

"On the contrary, it is very much my business if you are seeing anyone due to the possibility that that person would be around **my **children." Klaus argued his voice deepening slightly as it became harder. He was very protective of his children and he did not like the idea of men, men he didn't know hovering around them.

Caroline felt her cheeks flame redder in embarrassment, she had totally screwed up this interview, but she wasn't going to let it beat her. "Of course. Um, no, I'm not currently seeing anyone."

"What about the bloke that Stefan introduced me to when we went out for Damon's birthday?" Rebekah asked. "Taylor?"

"Tyler," Caroline corrected as she remembered the dinner Rebekah was referring to. "We are no longer together. But if I was dating someone, I do not bring them around my charges."

_"_Good to know," Klaus replied. He was a bit surprised by her answer that she was not dating anyone. She was an extremely beautiful woman with an outgoing personality. He knew most men would flock to her if she walked by them. He made a mental note to speak to Kol if he did end up hiring her to make sure his little brother left her alone.

"I'm going to get straight to the point. Typically, people would see a single father with his own business as a workaholic who pushes his children off onto a nanny to be raised by them twenty four hours a day; however, that is not me. Yes, I do help my siblings run our business, but I also take spending time raising my children just as seriously. Unfortunately, my schedule does not always allow me to do that, and I need someone here in the mornings to help get them off to school, pick them up after, deal with extracurricular activities or watch them until I am able to come home. Most times, that is early evening, but there are times when I'm cannot. That is why a live in works better for my situation than someone that lives across town," Klaus explained. "That does not mean that I plan for you to be on the clock for every day all day. As I said, most evenings would be your own as would weekends, etc."

Caroline mulled over his words as he talked. It would be different than she was used to, but she had known that in the beginning. Mr. Mikaelson was a single parent which meant he didn't have the backup that would normally be found in a two parent household. It would mean more hours possibly, but it also sounded as if he did whatever he could to be with his children as much as he could. And it wasn't as if she didn't like to work. "That sounds reasonable."

"Having explained all that, I do need to tell you an added component of the job that you might not have come across before, but that Stefan assures me that you can handle," Klaus stated. Everything he had read and heard so far was leading him to believe that Caroline would work well for his family; however, he wanted to make sure that she felt the same way, so he decided to lay all of his cards on the table and make sure that she knew what all he needed from the job.

"You have me intrigued."

"The additional duties of the job require not only for you to handle the children but also me."

**So what did you guys think? What do you think Caroline's reaction will be to Klaus's statement? **

**Also, some of this part might have been a little boring due to them talking over the job but I'm like OCD when it comes to details like that so I have to put them in there. And I hope that you guys liked the part about Caroline knowing how to handle a gun and self defense. I was raised by a cop in a family of cops and that's just how I see most police officers' kids being raised. **


	3. Part 2 Meet the Twins

**Author's Note:** **Well it seems like my cliffhanger had the intended effect that I was looking for! Glad to hear it! You'll find out soon what he means but I'm pretty sure everyone ****reading this wouldn't mind 'handling' would they? **

**Thanks to CeCeVolume for being a wonderful beta and Banana 71588. Go read their fics!**

**Anyways , onto the next part.**

Part 2

_"The additional duties of the job require not only for you to handle the children but also me."_

"EXCUSE ME?!" Caroline sputtered out in shock and knew her face had to be showing it considering how warm it felt. He couldn't possibly be talking about what she thought he was talking about could he? He was very good looking, but he couldn't really think that if he hired her that she…that they...could he?

When Klaus heard the indignation in her voice at his statement, he felt confused for a moment until he realized how his words could have been interpreted. He probably should have worded it better; Klaus couldn't help but think that Kol would have loved the scene in front of him while Elijah would chastise him. Klaus couldn't help the smirk on his face as Rebekah spoke up.

"What my brother means to say," Rebekah stated as she glared at him for his lack of thought as to how his words could be interpreted. Men were so clueless. "Is that he needs someone to help run his household as well look after the children, right Nik?"

"Yes, of course," Klaus admitted though the situation was humorous. "I assure you that this wouldn't be like one of the tawdry made for TV movies where the father seduces the unsuspecting nanny."

"Good because I assure you that I am too smart to be seduced by you," Caroline retorted before she could reign in her anger at the humor he seemed to find in her embarrassment. To help calm down, she focused on the question he had asked. "What exactly would 'running the household' entail? Housekeeping duties? Cooking?"

"A little of all of it," Klaus answered as they moved the conversation back to the job. "I have a cleaning staff that comes in and cleans twice a month but there is still the day to day upkeep. The kids know their responsibilities of keeping their things up but there are still things such as laundry, and vacuuming. I have a similar situation with cooking. Right now, I have meals delivered frozen to the house, but that only makes a handful of our menus, so there would be nights where a fresh meal would need to be prepared by you if I am having a late evening."

"That sounds like a very good system for a busy family," Caroline commented.

Klaus smiled. "I would like to take credit for it, but it was all Ayanna's work. She used to cook all of the time for us, but over the last couple of years, this arrangement has worked for the best."

Caroline nodded. "I don't see where any of that would be a problem."

"Good," Klaus replied. "Now that we have that out of the way, do you have any questions?"

"You mentioned earlier about me meeting with your children?" Caroline reminded him.

"Yes. They are downstairs in the playroom at the moment."

"Before I meet them, I was wondering if you could tell me a little about them. Anything that you think would be helpful for me to get to know them but also anything that would be beneficial regarding special needs," Caroline requested.

"Of course," Klaus agreed. "As I told the agency, Lexi and Henry are seven, fraternal twins. Lexi is almost ten minutes older and she makes sure that everyone knows that she's the big sister, but Henry doesn't let her boss him around."

"Much," Rebekah interjected.

"Well, brothers have a tendency to give their sisters their way so that they don't have to deal with pouting," Klaus teased his sister. "She is smart and a good student when she focuses. A year ago, she joined the junior team at a gymnastics gym where she was taking tumbling lessons. She has conditioning a few times a week for a couple of hours."

"So that would be one of the extracurricular activities you spoke of," Caroline replied with a smile. She couldn't help but notice the way that his eyes lit up as he talked about his kids.

"Yes that's the primary one actually. Henry hasn't really explored sports yet at his age but that can change in the next few years. He is just as active as his sister but they are a bit different when it comes to their studies. Henry doesn't seem to have to work much at learning; once he gets something, he knows it. He loves to read and anything to do with Science, especially animals." Klaus finished explaining just as he heard a noise by the door. "And the two of them love to try to sneak around the house and try to listen in when they were told to stay put."

Caroline had heard the noise as well and couldn't help but smile when she saw the door that had been partially closed open further to reveal the culprits. The twins were adorable, Henry looked a little tall for his age, with dark blonde curls, and his face was the spitting image of his father, while Lexi was shorter and smaller. She definitely had the build of a gymnast, and she seemed to favor her aunt in her coloring with pale blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail. Both had guilty looking smiles on their faces at being caught, but didn't looked too worried about the possibility of being in trouble because of it.

"Sorry, but you said we could meet her," Lexi said in apology as she stared at the stranger in the room.

"When Aunt Bekah and I were done talking to her," Klaus reminded his daughter as he tried to act as if he was actually upset at the interruption. "But you're here now so now is as good a time as any I suppose."

The twins' faces lit up as they rushed forward to meet Caroline. Henry beat his sister by inches thanks to his slightly longer legs. "Hi, I'm Henry and this is my sister Lexi. Are you going to be our new nanny?"

"Well hello, Henry and Lexi, I'm Caroline," Caroline said in introduction. "As for your question, we'll just have to wait and see."

"Ayanna has taken care of us since we were babies. Dad said that she still loves us but can't watch us anymore," Lexi stated. "He said we're too much of a handful for her since she got sick and that old people just want to sit around and not do anything.

"Lexi…" Klaus warned.

"You did!" Lexi stated.

"She's got you there Dad." Henry agreed.

"Excuse my children Caroline, the two of them gang up on people like this quite often. They fight like cats and dogs sometimes but are quick to band together in times like this," Klaus explained.

"Most siblings do, at least from I've seen," Caroline stated before turning her attention back to the kids. "You're probably not real happy about getting a new nanny are you?"

Both kids shrugged a little while Henry spoke. "We wanted to meet you when Dad said we could, Lexi and I think it could be fun to have someone around who doesn't baby us but..."

"But you will miss her too, am I right?" Caroline asked.

Both of the twins nodded with slightly sad looks on their face that made Caroline's chest tighten a little. These kids were just as sweet as they were adorable. "And I'm sure she will miss taking care of you guys. But you should remember that Ayanna would want you guys to have someone that can take the best care of you and since she isn't able to, she knows that she can't be that person."

Caroline leaned forward and motioned for them to come closer as she whispered. "I'll let you in on a little secret. I hope that I can be."

Smiles replaced frowns as her words seemed to do the trick and put them at ease. Caroline just hoped that she could back up the implied promise and be the nanny that they wanted. She had just met them and they already had their hands wrapped around her heart. Deciding to change to happier things, Caroline smiled as she said. "Lexi, your dad tells me that you're a gymnast? I was a cheerleader when I was younger but only did some tumbling. You must work really hard."

Lexi smiled proudly. "Yep, I have been tumbling since I was really little and last year since I was old enough they asked me if I wanted to be on the junior team."

"And you said yes of course." Caroline added.

"I had to beg Dad because I have to practice for like hours but he said yes. So I started. I did a couple of meets last year, but Dad and my coach Pearl said that I can do all of them now since I've been training long enough. It's going to be so awesome."

"It sounds awesome," Caroline replied with a huge smile. She could tell the little girl was really proud of what she was doing.

"She's pretty good, when she doesn't fall on her butt," Henry interrupted.

Caroline couldn't help but laugh at Henry's words or when Lexi elbowed her brother. She knew that he was trying to get her attention off of his sister and onto him. "And your dad also told me that you love animals?"

Henry nodded enthusiastically as she asked, "What's your favorite animal? I bet you like the big cats."

"They are neat, but hippos are my favorite," Henry answered.

"Really?" Caroline asked.

"Yep, they are just cool. Did you know they kill more people than any other African animal?" Henry asked.

Caroline was surprised by the little fact, most kids wouldn't be so blasé about something like that but Henry just acted like it was an everyday thing. "No. I didn't know that. I've never seen a regular Hippo before, but they have pygmy hippos at the zoo. Have you been?"

Klaus watched quietly off to the side as his kids battled for Caroline's attention. Henry was currently telling Caroline about the last time they had visited the zoo and how he got to go all of the time because they had a membership. Lexi also jumped into the conversation as she told Caroline what she liked when they visited. The two of them seemed quite taken with her. Neither of them were shy, but they normally didn't take over conversations like this when they were talking to an adult. He figured it was due to the friendliness that Caroline seemed to radiate and the way that she engaged them both in conversation.

Rebekah noticed how her brother watched the twins and Caroline interact for a moment before she whispered, "What are you thinking, Nik?"

"I was just going to ask you the same question, sister," Klaus stated.

Knowing she wasn't going to get his answer until she gave him her opinion, Rebekah replied, "I've never liked nor disliked her because I've not spent a lot of time with her. However, I think the children like her, and I agree with Stefan's opinion that she would do well. But…"

"Yes?"

Rebekah hesitated; she wasn't sure how to explain her trepidations to her brother. If he hired Caroline, she would be living in his house, helping him raise his children and that could create a certain sense of intimacy that could cause problems. It hadn't been a worry with Ayanna; she was older and practically family. Caroline was younger and attractive and her brother whether he wanted to admit it or not got lonely. Rebekah though quickly put these thoughts aside, Caroline wasn't Nik's type at all, if anything she was the opposite of the woman that Nik had been involved with in the past. The more she thought about it, the more she couldn't see anything more than possible friendship developing. "Nothing. I'd think she'd be a good choice."

**Well now you guys have met Henry and Lexi, what did you think? **

**I need some help from you guys, I have this story planned out in my head but I need some input from you as well. Caroline and Klaus's relationship will be built around their time together including time with the kids. If you have any suggestions or scenes of them with the kids that you would like to see, please leave it in your feedback or PM them to me. **

**Also, you can follow me on tumblr. **


	4. Part 3 Impressions

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just wanted to thank all of the reviews you guys have been leaving me. One of the reviews was left by a guest that I can't respond to answer their question so I will hope to do that now. Lexi and Henry are 7. **

**Thank you everyone for the suggestions you gave me for the kids/Klaus/Caroline interactions. I appreciate it and if you have anymore, please send them my way.**

**As I've said before, this is going to be a slow build up, I outlined it the other day and I'm at over 20 parts and that's before they get together. Hope that's not too slow.**

**This next part was fun to write, sadly no Klaroline but you do get to see my other favorite Mikaelson male. **

Part 3

Elijah walked into his brother's office quietly, so as not to disturb the conversation Niklaus was having with one of his employees, Maddox. Instead, he took the time to look around the connected workroom to observe what his brother had been most recently working on. With Niklaus in charge of the art department, Elijah rarely viewed his projects until they were completed, but he had always found it interesting to watch his brother take something that had been neglected and turn it back into something beautiful.

Klaus finished his discussion with Maddox before he dismissed him and approached Elijah. While it wasn't unheard of, normally Elijah did not come to his area of the building. He said it was because it was Klaus's domain and therefore under his control; Kol said it was because Elijah didn't want to worry about getting paints or chemicals on his suits and shoes. "What can I do for you brother?"

"I just came down to speak with you about family matters," Elijah explained as he walked over to his brother's desk. "Katherine reminded me this morning that you interviewed your potential nanny yesterday. Rebekah also mentioned it to me when I met with her."

"So you thought you would stop by to find out if I have decided to hire her yet?" Klaus asked as he motioned to the file on his desk. It was a copy of the report that Caroline had given him as well a few other things that the agency had since sent over which included background checks and a picture.

"Have you?" Elijah asked he looked down at the file to glance at its contents. When Niklaus shook his head, he continued, "Why not? Rebekah said she has all of the qualifications you are looking for and most importantly that Henrik and Alexandria liked her."

"She is right; they both loved her, talked about her all night as a matter of fact," Klaus stated remembering how he had not been able to get a word throughout most of dinner as they had chattered happily about the young woman they had just met. Later that night, as he had put Lexi to bed, his daughter had whispered in his ear as she hugged him good night that she hoped he would let Caroline come take care of them. "I just want to think it over. Take everything into consideration and not make any rash decisions."

At his last words, Klaus heard Elijah chuckle. "I apologize, Niklaus I am just remembering a time when you made all of your decisions by rushing into them."

"I don't have that luxury anymore, at least not when it concerns them," Klaus replied. He could not let his children be hurt by rash decisions, not again.

"I understand, truly I do," Elijah explained thinking of his own children. "It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that she's quite attractive, does it?"

"Careful Elijah; your wife would not like hearing you calling other women beautiful," Klaus taunted. The whole Mikaelson family was known for their tempers and, though his sister in law had married into it, she did the Mikaelson name justice, especially when it came to Elijah. "Katherine is the jealous type."

"Something I am well aware of," Elijah stated. "But I did not call Ms. Forbes beautiful, you did. Is that what is causing your indecisiveness?"

"I believe you have me mixed up with our younger brother. I'm not Kol; I can control myself around a pretty girl," Klaus said as he smirked at his brother who grinned back as they thought of their womanizing brother.

"So you admit that you are attracted to her?" Elijah asked.

"I admit that I find her a strikingly beautiful woman," Klaus confessed. "And yes that has come into consideration, but I am not concerned with that. I want who will be best for Lexi and Henry."

"Which it looks like you have," Elijah cut in. "Answer me this Niklaus; is there anything, even a minor issue, which you have found in her file or during your interview with her that causes your instincts to tell you that this woman is not the best person to take care of my niece and nephew?"

"No," Klaus admitted truthfully. Despite his reservations, none of them were based on anything negative; so far he hadn't found anything negative against Caroline. She had no criminal record, not even a speeding ticket, and no black marks of any kind on her employment records. As a matter of fact, all of the families she had worked for gave her glowering reviews.

"Then you have your answer."

/

Caroline rushed into the café and saw that her two best friends were already waiting for her. Normally Caroline was the first one to arrive so she could see the look of relief in their eyes when they spotted her, she had probably worried them. "Sorry I'm late. I was talking to my dad and Steven and just lost track of time."

"No problem Care," Elena said as she reached up to hug her friend in greeting. "We just got here ourselves. Everything okay with them?"

"Everything's fine, Dad just wanted to find out how my latest interview went so he and Steven Skyped me this morning," Caroline assured them as she sat down. Elena and Bonnie had already ordered her a drink so she picked it up quickly and took a long drink. The weather was cool outside, but she had worked up a thirst as she'd hurried to lunch.

"So how did the interview go anyway? I didn't get a chance to ask you last night, you were already crashed out on the couch when I got back," Bonnie asked after they ordered their food from the waitress.

"Sorry, I was exhausted. Between prepping for the interview and then the stress of it, I just couldn't keep my eyes open," Caroline said in apology. She had been living with Bonnie temporarily since she had moved out of the Fell's until she found a new family.

Caroline had spent almost an hour talking to Lexi and Henry about all kinds of things, from their interests to school and their friends before their father had broken the conversation up. After they said goodbye to Caroline, she was left back with the adults. Mr. Mikaelson had gone over some more details with her as well as a few more questions. He told her that regardless of his decision, he'd be contacting her soon to let her know the result before Rebekah had walked her out. It had been hard to get a read on his thoughts on her especially considering that she had reacted somewhat rudely to some of his questions about her personal life. However, she still held out hope that her experience and her time with his kids would prevail.

"The interview was good, great even. Well mostly," Caroline stated before she began giving them the details of the interview. When she got to the part where she had embarrassed herself, the girls gasped.

"Oh Caroline, you didn't!" Elena exclaimed with a slight hint of laughter in her voice.

"I did. And it gets worse!" Caroline replied as she told them her reaction to when she had been told that part of the job entailed her 'handling' him. They had been as shocked as she was until she explained and then they broke into laughter. "Guys, it's not that funny. I totally embarrassed myself."

"Caroline, you've been watching too many Lifetime movies where the guy seduces the babysitter," Bonnie said causing Caroline to toss a waded up napkin in her direction.

"All joking aside, do you think it's a job that you'd want?" Elena asked as she tried to regain her composure.

"It will be different yeah, but every job is," Caroline answered.

"You've always worked in a two parent household and been super busy; now you would be watching the kids and running a house. That doesn't give you much time for a social life," Elena stated before touching on a subject that she knew Caroline might not want to talk about. "And after what happened with Tyler…."

"Tyler couldn't handle me not being at his beck and call whenever he wanted. I could be a nanny or teacher and the time I gave him would never have been enough for him. As for this job and the duties that come with it, everything I should need to do to keep the house in order can be done while the kids are in school or at least while I'm on the clock so to speak. He doesn't expect me to work around the clock cooking and cleaning," Caroline explained. "Mr. Mikaelson seems like a good guy who is trying to run a business while raising his kids. He doesn't just want to sit back and pay someone to do it for him. He is very involved in their lives. He just needs a little help taking care of them and someone to organize the day to day things."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Care, but it sounds like this guy needs a wife," Bonnie commented as she munched on her food that the waitress had just brought. "Speaking of which, where is his wife?"

"Not sure but according to the file, they are divorced and he has sole custody."

"So he's completely single?" Elena asked.

Caroline shrugged. "I don't know; it didn't come up."

"You might want to find out. I mean, if the guy isn't married that means that he could be dating which means that he might expect you to watch the kids late or he could be involved which means that he might want you for overnighters," Elena told her.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that," Caroline exclaimed. "I mean, I can't imagine that he wouldn't have some female companionship."

"Why do you say that?" Elena asked and both she and Bonnie noticed how Caroline's cheeks reddened immediately.

"He's hot, isn't he?" Bonnie asked.

"Maybe," Caroline said cryptically as she looked down and started studying her food intently.

"I've met Rebekah remember, I know she's beautiful, so I doubt that her brother was hit with the ugly stick," Elena stated. "So spill."

"He's gorgeous. He's got dark blonde curly hair, dimples and intense blue eyes. And the accent is so…well you guys know how accents on guys are like beer goggles for women right? Not that women would need beer goggles to find him attractive," Caroline babbled for a minute before turning serious. "But none of that matters because if I get the job he'll be my boss."

"A boss who you will be living with," Bonnie reminded her. "I think that makes it matter very much."

"It's just physical attraction, it's not like there is anything else there. I can ignore it, haven't you ever done that?" Caroline asked. "Like when you think a guy your friend is dating is cute, or you find a married coworker hot? It's just attraction that you push to the side. I'm a professional and I wouldn't want to risk my job or my career."

Caroline's statement put an end to the discussion as they switched to other subjects as they continued to eat their lunch. Elena talked about her and Damon while Bonnie talked about work. They were just wrapping up the meal when Caroline's phone rang. The caller id came up as unknown, but Caroline knew it could be about a job. She stepped away from the table to answer it, motioning to her friends so they would understand. "Hello, this is Caroline."

"Caroline, this is Klaus Mikaelson."

"Hello Mr. Mikaelson, I was hoping to hear from you soon," Caroline greeted. "With good news, I hope."

"I believe so. I wanted to call to extend the offer to come to work for me and my family. If you accept, we would meet to go over the details before the offer is finalized," Klaus stated.

Caroline bit her lip for a moment to contain the squeal of excitement and happiness that bubbled up inside her. She quickly got control of herself so she could answer him. "Yes, I mean, I accept."

"Fantastic," Klaus stated. "How about we meet tomorrow at my office at say one o'clock?"

"Perfect."

**Okay, so not only has Klaus offered Caroline the job, but they admitted that they find the other one attractive.**

**Next part, Caroline meets with Klaus at his office. **

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	5. Part 4 The Contract

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I want to thank everyone for reviewing, favoriting and following my story! I hit over 100 followers after the last part. I'm happy to see that people are enjoying reading this story as I am writing it. **

**Guest who asked if by Bonnie mentioning that Klaus needed a wife: I wasn't foreshadowing, at least not deliberately. It was more of a quick way of explaining what Klaus needs from Caroline. More than a Nanny, more than a housekeeper, etc.**

**Guest who sent me the long list of possible scenes: Nope, you didn't scare me! I welcome the suggestions, funny enough I have several of them already listed in a similar situation. Not exactly but close. **

**And when I said it would be 20 parts before they get together, it's true but don't worry there will be plenty of scenes with THICK SEXUAL TENSION. Sorry, couldn't help it.**

**Thanks again to CeCeVolume for betaing.**

Part 4

The next day Caroline showed up out front of the large building that housed Originals a few minutes before one o'clock. She had taken the train and had been worried that she might end up being late due to a delay but thankfully she had been wrong. She hated being late.

Once she straightened her jacket and ran a hand through her straight hair, Caroline felt put together enough to open the front door. The lobby was warm and inviting with earth tones and wood work, which included a large wooden desk that Caroline figured, was itself an antique. Behind it sat a receptionist who was talking to a young tall dark haired man. The two noticed her entrance and turned their attention to Caroline, the man's eyes swept over her in an appraising way while the receptionist greeted her. "Welcome to Originals, may I help you?"

Caroline smiled brightly as she approached the desk. "Hello, I'm here to meet with Mr. Mikaelson."

"Which one?" The receptionist asked sounding slightly annoyed.

"Sadly, not me." The dark haired man announced, as his mouth rose in a flirty smile. "She's here to see Nik, Dana. Caroline Forbes I assume?"

Caroline nodded as the man put his hand out in greeting. "Kol Mikaelson."

"Nice to meet you." Caroline replied as she shook his hand firmly.

"Oh I assure you, darling, the pleasure is all mine." Kol practically purred back before he looked to the receptionist. "Don't worry about it, Dana; I'll take her back to Nik's office."

Dana looked uneasy about his statement but Caroline knew she was probably hesitant to tell one of the owners no. Caroline just smiled at her, before she headed down one of the hallways with Kol. He continued to study her, mostly her chest if she was honest but she tried to ignore him by focusing on the various rooms that they walked by. The first rooms were galleries then what looked like workrooms and offices.

"I must say when Nik told me that he had found a new nanny; I never would have pictured someone so beautiful coming in."

Caroline had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the obvious line. "Were you expecting someone like Mary Poppins perhaps?"

Kol laughed at her question. "You're a feisty little thing, I can…"

"Kol." A deep voice interrupted. Caroline looked over Kol's shoulder and saw Niklaus Mikaelson standing in a doorway. He was dressed as if for the office in a pair of dress pants, with a blue gray button down shirt on, but he wore no tie and the sleeves were rolled up as if he'd been working on something. His hair was slightly more unkempt than the previous time they had met, she guessed that he had ran his hand through it recently but her main focus was the glare he was shooting at his brother. He was not happy to see Kol.

"Nik!" Kol greeted. "I was just showing the lovely Ms. Forbes to your office. You didn't tell me how attractive she was."

"If I recall, I told you that she was off limits, Kol. I don't need you molesting my employees." Klaus scowled at his brother. Dana had called him the moment Kol had lead Caroline away, knowing he would want to know what was going on. He had left his office immediately to head his younger brother off. He knew that Kol never followed the rules but he had hoped that perhaps he'd listen at least once in a while. He should have known better.

"You can't blame me for trying; after all she's not technically your employee yet." Kol said as he smiled and held up his hands in surrender. He turned his attention back to Caroline and took her hand. "Caroline, I leave you in Nik's hands but I hope to see you again soon."

Kol moved to raise her hand to his lips but Caroline quickly pulled it away, which only caused him to laugh. "Okay darling, I can take a hint."

Caroline watched as he turned and left down one of the opposite hallways before she turned back to Niklaus. He looked very irritated and she was glad his annoyance wasn't directed at her.

"I apologize for my brother; he was born without restraint or modesty." Klaus confessed as he led her back the way he came towards his office. "But I assure you he is completely harmless."

"It's fine Mr. Mikaelson." Caroline stated. She could tell that Kol was just being overly flirty with her. Normally it would have bothered her but now with her employer's assurance, she had to admit that it made her feel more comfortable next time she was around Kol.

Klaus stopped and turned towards her suddenly, causing Caroline to almost run face first into him. As it was they were only inches apart. She was so close she could see the little details of the necklaces that peeked out of the collar of his buttoned down shirt, the color of which seemed to make his eyes stand out even more than normal. He grinned slightly as he said, "Caroline, if you are going to work for me and live in my home, I believe we should be a bit less formal. Please call me Klaus."

"Um..I don't know. I mean you are going to be my boss." Caroline replied as she licked her lips absently. Now she was feeling a little unnerved again. First the familiarity he was insisting on by having her call him by his first name and now the closeness of his body to hers.

"Exactly." Klaus retorted quietly, his eyes focused on her lips as her tongue came out to caress her lips. He was very aware of how close they were and how it seemed to be making her uncomfortable. He had to admit that the feeling of her was disconcerting so he stepped back as he finished what his argument. "When a member of my staff calls me Mr. Mikealson, you make me feel like I'm my father and that is not something I want on a daily basis."

Caroline was confused with his explanation but gave in. "Okay. Klaus it is then."

"Great." Klaus replied with a smile before continuing the short distance to his office. "However unfortunate Kol's interruption, it does remind me that I should warn you about my family. We are all very close and with that closeness comes… intrusiveness. They have a tendency to drop by my house with no warning to visit with Henry and Lexi or myself. It is more likely to happen in the next few weeks due to curiosity about you as well. I hope that won't make you too uncomfortable."

"No, I don't believe so. I enjoy being around families. It's part of why I became a nanny." Caroline admitted as she walked through the door into what looked like an office as well as a studio. There were paintings everywhere as well as various art supplies. "Wow."

Klaus's eyebrow rose in surprise at Caroline's look of awe over his workspace. Her eyes flitted to various paintings and he could see admiration in them. "Are you an art enthusiast?"

Caroline shrugged. "Um no, not exactly. I took a few art history classes in college. I love to look at art though I can't draw a straight line to save my life." Caroline said with a laugh. "I do dabble a little with photography. I like the idea of capturing memories forever."

Klaus nodded in understanding, he took lots of pictures of the twins as well as sketched them quite often as a way to hold onto the memories so they would have them when they grew up. Before he could say anything, someone joined them. "Caroline, this is my assistant Mindy. She'll be your contact here regarding my schedule or pretty much anything if you can't reach me."

Caroline reached out and shook the brunette's hand. "Nice to meet you Mindy."

"Nice to meet you too Caroline." Mindy greeted before she looked at Klaus. "I know you said you are unavailable for the next few hours but I wanted to remind you that with the shipment this morning, you skipped lunched. Did you want me to have something brought in?

"Yes, that would be fine sweetheart." Klaus agreed before looking back at Caroline. "Would you like to join me? We can discuss the details while we eat."

Caroline started to decline before she realized she was a bit hungry. She had eaten a late breakfast so had forgone eating anything for lunch. "Yes, thank you."

Once the food orders were dealt with, Klaus led Caroline over to a high table that he had cleaned off for their meeting. "I had two copies of the contract draw up, most of it we went over the other day but I felt it best that we cover it again."

Caroline nodded. "Before we do, I have a couple of questions that I thought of after we met but I felt were a little personal to ask on the phone."

"Yes?"

"The first one is that I wanted to ask what the situation between you and your ex-wife is. I have that you are divorced and you have sole custody but it doesn't mention anything about visitations or really any details." Caroline asked.

"That's because there aren't any. She has no legal rights to them." Klaus replied.

"Is there any possibility of her trying to see the kids despite that?" Caroline asked. "I just want to make sure there aren't any safety issues, it happens."

"Tatia, my ex-wife has not had contact with my children since they were young." Klaus explained as he tried to keep the anger out of his voice that always came out when he was talking about Tatia.

"That must be hard on Lexi and Henry. And you." Caroline confessed before she caught herself. "Sorry."

"It's okay, it has been hard on the two of them but they don't remember so it makes it easier." Klaus stated as he ignored her reference to him. "With that dealt with, what was the other question you had for me?"

Caroline could tell he wanted to drop the subject so she did as well and moved onto the other question. "About your current personal life, I was wondering if you are currently in a relationship and if so if part of my duties will include watching the children late into or possibly overnight? I have no issue with doing it but I would like to know upfront."

Her question took Klaus off guard. It was an ordinary question but not one that he had even considered and should have anticipated that the subject of his personal life would come up. "There may be times that I am gone overnight for business but I am not involved in a relationship."

"What about when you go on dates then? What has been the practice for that in the past with your current nanny?" Caroline asked.

"There isn't one." Klaus answered. "I don't date."

Caroline was floored by his answer and again words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Why the hell not?"

Her outburst seemed to humor Klaus, causing him to smirk and Caroline tried to quickly recover herself. "It's just you're an attractive successful guy and I just figured. I'm sorry; sometimes the filter between my brain and my mouth doesn't always work."

"Don't apologize; it's a rare quality that someone speaks their mind so openly." Klaus replied honestly. It had taken him aback but found it refreshing as well. "Now to answer your question, there are several reasons. The two most important are Lexi and Henry. I split my time between my work here and them, and I don't want to give up any of the time I have with them. I doubt that there aren't many women out there that would understand that, not that I've found."

If Caroline thought that Klaus Mikaelson was a good man and father before, her opinion of him had just doubled or more by his statement. She never would have thought that a guy would sacrifice his own needs so completely just to make sure he could give his children all of his time. She knew many women who would find that incredibly attractive, herself included. However noble it was though, Caroline felt a bit sad for him as well, he must get lonely at times. Before she could think on it more, Mindy returned with a bag of food and they sat down.

"Now if I have answered all of your questions, let's move forward." Klaus instructed as he tried to guide the conversation away from its current subject matter.

For the next few hours, they went over all of the details of her contract. All of the duties were listed as they had discussed, and Klaus stated that Ayanna would stay on as well for the first couple of weeks to help the kids with the transition as well as teach Caroline the ins and outs of everything. At the end of that time, Caroline would then move in and become the primary caregiver.

Caroline was very pleased with the offer; her salary was higher than her previous one due to the extra duties she guessed. Most of the remaining part of the offer was standard such as room and board. She had her own bedroom suite with attached bath, free range of the rest of the house except for of course the Master Bedroom and Klaus's home office, and anything she wanted in regards to groceries was expected to be part of her weekly grocery trip for Klaus and the kids. She joked with him that he might rethink that part of the arrangement when he saw how much she spent on coffee and chocolate but he only laughed and admitted that he too drank quite a bit of coffee himself.

However when they got the area explaining her paid time off, Caroline got a bit confused. "Okay, I must be reading this wrong. It says that I have off the week of Christmas with the option of a second week if desired?"

"Yes, we close down the office and shop for two weeks at Christmas so that we and our employees can spend time with our families. The first week we stay here in town and the second one, all of my family goes on holiday together. Ayanna sometimes accompanied us to help out with the twins as well as my nieces and nephews but other years she didn't. I wanted to give you the same option; your expenses would be paid of course as well as your salary."

"Oh, okay." Caroline replied stunned. She had never gone on vacation with her employers before though she knew other nannies that did. "Um…where do you typically go?"

"We choose a different destination each year but in the past we've gone to London, Madrid, Maui, Fiji. This year we are staying a little closer to home though due to my sister in law Katherine's pregnancy; my brother doesn't want her taxing herself on an overseas plane ride just down to Barbados." Klaus clarified. "The choice to go is completely up to you."

"Do I need to make the decision now?" Caroline asked thinking she was glad she had kept her passport up to date. She had never traveled anywhere, a few coastal visits when she was kid, a trip with her girlfriends to New York and then small trips around New England when they had moved to Boston. The thought of traveling with the Mikaelsons was a bit overwhelming.

"Of course not, we still have a few months." Klaus assured her before they wrapped things up and Caroline was officially Klaus's newest employee.

**Sorry that the last line was so cheesy but really couldn't figure out how else to do it.**

**Well what did you guys think about Klaus's personal life? I know he's a gorgeous guy who has needs but he's just too family/work focused for him to be a big dater. **

**As for the trip, don't worry Caroline will be going. Whose going to turn down a week in the tropics?**

**This was the last of the set up scenes. From now on we'll be seeing various days in the life of Caroline working for the Mikaelsons. **

**If you have a chance, please leave me a review to let me know what you think and follow me on tumblr. **


	6. Part 5 Moving Day

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well TVD might be taking the week off but I am not so here is my weekly post. I did want to put on here that I am thankful for every single review, follower, and favoriter (I'm making that a word) and I hope anyone celebrating the holiday this week has a good one. I'm spending Thanksgiving morning at a Charity run and it's my first so hopefully I'll still be alive afterwards to keep posting for you guys.**

**Glad everyone is okay with my not making Klaus a man-whore. It just doesn't work for me for this story. Also, I realize that Caroline and Klaus have been very formal with each other but remember, they have only met twice and aren't living together yet, they will loosen up around each other starting in this part. **

**Now for the next part...**

Part 5

It was moving day for Caroline. She'd been mentoring under Ayanna for just over two weeks and tomorrow, Monday, was Caroline's first day on her own with the kids. She had enjoyed training under the older woman; Ayanna was very kind and warm hearted. They would take the kids to school together and then go back to the house where she explained to Caroline the intricacies of the household as they ran through the day. Caroline loved to hear the little stories and family history that Ayanna shared. Caroline now knew that Kol and Rebekah were not the only siblings Klaus had but also two older brothers as well as a younger one that had died when he was a teenager. Ayanna never spoke about Klaus's ex-wife Tatia, though.

Caroline could see that the woman really cared for the family, but she also noticed various times when tiredness or pain would overcome Ayanna's features and she would quickly step forward and try to take over as best she could without seeming intrusive or demeaning. Ayanna seemed to understand that and by the last day they worked together, Ayanna had told Caroline that she was very comfortable knowing that the family had Caroline to help look after them. Caroline couldn't think of any greater show of respect than that.

Caroline along with Bonnie, Elena, and Damon pulled up in front of the Mikaelson house and parked Elena's SUV. Since Caroline had been living with the families she worked for several years, she didn't have a ton of stuff, mostly clothes and things but the boxes filled the back of the car. Nothing that the girls couldn't handle, but Elena thought it would be a good idea to bring Damon along to help as well as move anything heavy.

"Wow, Caroline. This place is beautiful," Bonnie exclaimed as they got out.

"Isn't it?" Caroline agreed. "And there's so much stuff nearby, the market, a park not to mention the Commons. Ayanna and I took the kids there last week, I have a feeling we'll go there a lot."

"Do you want to start grabbing out the boxes now, Blondie?" Damon asked.

"Let's wait on it, I want to get into the room and see what we might want to move around," Caroline told him. "From what I remember, I'm going to want to do some rearranging."

"When did the other nanny move out?" Bonnie asked as they went up the stairs.

"Late last week, I haven't had a chance to look in the room since," Caroline answered before headed to the front door to knock. She had a key, but thought it'd be polite to announce their arrival. However, it didn't look to be necessary because before her fist touched the door, she could hear a commotion on the other side before it swung open. On the other side were Henry and Lexi, anxiously waiting for her with big smiles on their faces.

"Caroline! Finally! We thought you'd never get here," Henry said as he rushed forward to give her a hug, almost knocking her over.

"Dad! Caroline's here!" Lexi yelled though it wasn't necessary considering that at that moment, Klaus came down the stairs.

"I can see that, sweetheart. Why don't you and your brother back up so that she and her friends can come into the house."

The twins did as their father told them and stepped back to let the new arrivals come in however Caroline's focus was now on Klaus. He was dressed in a gray Henley long sleeved shirt, and what looked like a pair of dark well-worn jeans. It was the most casual she'd seen him. Most evenings when she had seen him after he had returned from work, he had been dressed similar to the day she had come to his office. The look worked very well for him.

Caroline noticed that Klaus was looking at her and she blushed. "Um, these are my friends. Bonnie and Elena, and Elena's boyfriend…"

"Damon," Klaus finished for her as he nodded to the other man. "We've met before."

"Right, Stefan," Caroline figured. "This is Klaus Mikaelson and his children, Lexi and Henry."

"Well, its nice meeting you, ladies," Klaus said politely, smiling at each of them. The kids looked at the stranger girls apprehensively but still waved politely.

"They just came to help me with my stuff and to see where I'll be living," Caroline explained. She wasn't sure if he minded having three strangers in his house. She probably should have asked him, but she hadn't even thought about it.

"It's not a problem," Klaus assured her before the twins grabbed Caroline's hands and started tugging her upstairs towards her room with Caroline's friends following them.

"Come on Caroline; let's go to your room," Lexi urged

"Yeah, it might have changed since you saw it last," Henry acknowledged before he got a slap in the arm from his sister. "What? I said might have. I didn't say did."

Bonnie and Elena laughed at the two kids. "They are so cute."

Caroline laughed with them in agreement. She let them lead her until they got to the back of the second floor where she could see the door to her room was closed. On it was a homemade sign that said 'Welcome Home Caroline.' She felt her smile grow as tears came to her eyes. "Guys, that is so sweet."

"Henry and I both worked on it," Lexi beamed.

"Look, I drew the zebra on it," Henry explained. "Lex did the letters."

"Well, thank you," Caroline said as she leaned forward to look, but the twins had other ideas. Instead, they pushed the door open and Caroline felt her mouth drop open. The room looked completely different. When Ayanna had occupied it, the walls were painted a dark green and had been filled with dark wood furniture including book shelves everywhere. It had made the room seem cramped and shadowy but it was nothing like that now.

The room had been repainted so that it was now a pale yellow color and all of the dark wood furniture had been removed and exchanged for a queen size bed with a white headboard, matching nightstand, a small white vanity, and a dresser with a flat screen TV mounted above it. The curtains matched the yellow and blue comforter and with them drawn back, let in a lot of light but were heavy enough it appeared to block it as well if she wanted.

"Daddy did it after Ayanna left; he had Uncle Kol come over to help him," Lexi explained.

"It's perfect," Caroline said just before Damon and Klaus joined them. She smiled at Klaus in gratitude, but didn't say anything. She wanted to thank him later. "The room is set up just like I want, Damon, we can start bringing up the boxes and stuff now."

Damon rolled his eyes at her before walking back the way he came, mumbling under his breath about her neurotic control tendencies while Bonnie and Elena followed after him. Caroline moved to go after them when Klaus stopped her. "Um, I know it's officially your night off, but we were wondering if would join us for dinner?"

"Dinner?"

"The kids want to make you dinner, to welcome you," Klaus explained with a smile. "They are kind of excited that you are here."

"I noticed," Caroline laughed. "Sure. Dinner will be nice."

Klaus nodded before following her down to help her friends with her stuff. It didn't take long for them to unload the boxes. Once that was done, Klaus shooed the kids out of the way and left Caroline and her friends to unpack them into Caroline's room.

"Care, you weren't kidding when you said the man was hot," Bonnie commented once the door was closed and enough time had passed that she knew she wouldn't be overheard.

"Bonnie…" Caroline hissed as she looked over at Damon. She thought of him as a friend and thought he was a good boyfriend to Elena, but the man could not keep him mouth shut for anything. She did not need it getting back to Stefan—and then Rebekah—that she had thought that Klaus was good looking.

"Oh, come on, Blondie, it's just us girls here," Damon commented as his lips curved into a sly smile, he put down the magazine and gave the conversation his full attention. "I know the guy with kids thing is always a big turn on for the ladies."

"He's my boss, and I am not having this conversation," Caroline said in a voice that stated that she was indeed done talking about it.

Bonnie and Elena helped Caroline unpack and organize everything while Damon lay on her new bed and flipped through her magazines, making comments about the articles until he was driving the girls so crazy that Elena thought it was best to get him out of there.

Caroline spent the next couple of hours putting the finishing touches on her new space. Her closet wasn't huge but big enough that she was able to fit all of her clothes and shoes in it and the rest of the room was starting to feel like hers. She saw that it was getting to be early evening and if the smells of food wafting through the house was any indication, Caroline knew that dinner would be soon so she jumped into her shower and got cleaned up. She dressed in clean clothes and threw her hair into a high ponytail.

Once she was done, Caroline went in search of the other residents of the house. She found Klaus in the kitchen, working on what looked to be a salad and no kids in sight. "I thought you said Henry and Lexi were cooking?"

Klaus turned his attention to her and smiled. "Yeah, well they thought that the idea of cooking was fun for about the first five minutes. Once there wasn't anything to cut up, they abandoned me."

"You should have come and gotten me," Caroline stated.

"It's okay; I know my way around the kitchen," Klaus assured her. "Take a seat; I need to finish this up before we call the kids."

Caroline sat down on the stool that was ducked into the little kitchen desk area across from where Klaus worked. "Um, I didn't say it earlier but thank you. For my room, it's beautiful."

Klaus looked up from his task and smiled at her. "You're welcome. I hoped that it would suit your tastes. Ayanna had it so dark in there; I couldn't picture you feeling very comfortable. It's your home and you should have what you need to make it feel like it."

Caroline watched as Klaus moved around the kitchen finishing the salad while dealing with various pots on the stove. He was still dressed in his Henley and jeans but had lost his shoes and was walking around barefoot. He looked very relaxed, both in the clothes and in the kitchen. She could see that he meant what he said about being familiar with the kitchen. "Who taught you to cook? Your mother?"

"No, my father would never have allowed that," Klaus chuckled more to himself than to Caroline. "I taught myself the basics; I could only deal with take away for so long."

"I know what you mean; my mom worked a lot of hours and I could only live on pizza, frozen dinners and casseroles for so long," Caroline agreed.

"So who taught you to cook?" Klaus asked. Caroline had cooked a few times over the last couple of weeks for them and shown that she was quite the cook.

"Um…my dad's partner," Caroline answered. When Klaus looked at her confused, she explained. "My parents divorced when I was a teenager after he left her for a man."

"Oh," Klaus replied; he hadn't expected the bit of Caroline's family history that she had shared. Not a lot of people would be so forth coming, but he could see that Caroline was comfortable with her family dynamics and didn't care who knew it.

"Like I said, Mom worked a lot. So I asked Steven to teach me on my weekend visits, he said I took to it like a duck in water. But the cleanup sucks. I hate doing dishes," Caroline stated.

"Tonight, I'll be taking care of that as well," Klaus laughed, "Now, dinner is ready. I'm going to call the kids to wash their hands, do you mind going back to your room? I think they wanted this to be a surprise and I'll send one of them to get you."

"Sure thing," Caroline said with a smile before getting up and heading back to her room. Her first night in her new home was turning out to be perfect.

**So what did you guys think? What do you think about Caroline's new room and what Klaus did for her? ****Next part, Caroline meets more of the Mikaelson family. Any guesses who?**

**The line that Klaus said regarding knowing his way around the kitchen is not mine. If you can guess the movie, I'll answer any spoiler question you want to ask. It's a very small line in a blockbuster movie that I happened to have been watching when I wrote this part. **

**If you are on tumblr, you can follow me under livingdeadblondegirl. **


	7. Part 6 The Sister-In-Laws

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone, I hope you had a good holiday weekend I know I did. I was able to get two parts written! And my charity race went well, we had beautiful weather and I felt good afterwards. Decided to post one day early this week as you can see. **

**Again I want to thank everyone for the reviews I have gotten for this story. You guys are fantastic and I just want to hug each one of you when I get a new review. **

**Speaking of reviews, many of you has said how much you like the twins so I have a confession to make. In regards to the twins, I use my youngest son and my oldest niece for their personalities. They are less than two years apart but are so physically similiar that they are mistaken as siblings all of the time and fight like they are as well. **

**Also, I had two people guess the right movie from which the quote came from. It was Jurassic Park if anyone is interested. **

**Thanks again to CeCeVolume for betaing this for me. **

Part 6

A few days later, Caroline was in the kitchen when she heard the front doorbell ring. She was alone in the Mikaelson house, Lexi and Henry were in school and Klaus was at work so she headed to answer the door. She wasn't expecting any visitors nor any deliveries so she used the peephole to see who it was. The view was distorted but could see two women; one brunette and one red head with a small child on the front steps. She opened the door and put on a smile, "Hello, may I help you?"

The brunette smiled back at her. "You must be Caroline."

Caroline felt a little uneasy at the statement. The women looked vaguely familiar but didn't understand why until the red head made introductions. "I'm Sage; this is Katherine. We are Niklaus's sisters-in-law."

Recognition hit her, she had seen their faces in a couple of the pictures that were hanging around the house, and Caroline's eyes widened. "Of course. Come in, come in, please."

The women entered after Caroline stepped back and opened the door wider. She shut the door behind them and turned towards them with a smile. When she did, she noticed the little boy looking at her with curious eyes. She squatted and waved. "Hi there. I'm Caroline; you must be Daniel."

The little boy nodded slowly, still watching her. "Henry and Lexi have told me about you; they are at school right now. They will be sorry they missed you."

Daniel smiled shyly at her before burying his face in his mother's leg. Caroline just smiled again at him before she stood up and looked at Sage and Katherine. "Klaus isn't here; he is at work."

"We know," Katherine replied. "We just wanted to come by and…introduce ourselves to the newest member of Nik's household."

"Oh, well, it's nice to meet you. Would either of you care for a cup of coffee or tea?" the blonde asked as she headed into the kitchen. She was feeling a little self-conscious at the moment. Caroline hadn't been expecting company; thankfully they hadn't showed up an hour or so before when she was nasty and sweaty from her workout. Now she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeve top with her hair up in a chignon so felt much more put together.

"Coffee for me," Sage answered her offer before motioning over to the brunette. "Decaf tea for the pregnant one over here."

Katherine rolled her eyes as she sat Daniel down at the table with a book and a few other things to entertain him. "One cup of coffee is not going to hurt me."

"Maybe not, but I'm not facing Elijah's wrath if he finds out that you had one and I was around to stop it," Sage retorted with a smile.

Caroline looked away from the coffee machine and towards Katherine, as she took in the conversation. "Klaus mentioned that one of his sisters-in-law was pregnant. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Katherine accepted with a bright smile that she couldn't seem to get off of her face whenever the subject of her pregnancy came up. "My husband is being a little overbearing, though I don't know why I'm surprised; everyone in this family is a bit overprotective. We watch out for each other."

Caroline wasn't sure why but she could have sworn that the other woman was telling her that as more of a threat than a simple statement. She busied herself with making the coffee as well as some tea for Katherine. "Would Daniel like anything? I can get him some milk or juice."

"Daniel sweetie, are you thirsty?" Katherine asked her son who nodded. "Juice please."

Caroline quickly got a small cup of juice for Daniel. As she did, Sage noticed the various papers and books lying around the kitchen counter. "Caroline, I hope we aren't interrupting anything. It looks as if you were in the middle of something."

The blonde saw where Sage's eyes were directed. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just looking over some recipes and planning a trip to the market later tomorrow."

"Well, it sounds like Nik found himself the perfect little housewife," Katherine stated as she moved next to Sage. "Isn't that just precious?"

Something in Katherine's tone set Caroline's nerves on edge. "It is part of the job that Mr. Mikaelson hired me to do."

"Oh, so it's Mr. Mikaelson now? You were calling him Klaus when we got here," Katherine fired back. "Very friendly with your boss, aren't you?"

"He insisted that I call him Klaus," Caroline explained. "It is his house and he hired me, so I do as he asks."

"I'm sure," Katherine said with a devious looking smile. "I'm sure you'd be willing to do anything he asks."

"Katherine," Sage called in warning. She should have known that Katherine had been up to something when she had suggested they come over to meet Caroline. While she understood where her sister in law was coming from, Niklaus would not be happy.

"I don't like what you are implying."

"And whatever would that be?" Katherine asked in a sweetly innocent voice. "You must see how it looks Caroline, a young bubbly woman like you living with someone like Nik? He's very handsome, not to mention single and rich; most girls would see this job as an easy way to seduce him."

It was then that Caroline got what the other woman was doing. She was testing her, trying to see if she would be a pushover or if she would stand her ground and speak up for herself. Well the brunette was about to find out exactly who Caroline Forbes was. "Klaus hired me to take care of Henry and Lexi, as well as some housekeeping. Those are my duties and the only ones I will be carrying out. Whether he is single or not does not matter; I take my job very seriously."

The two women stared at each. Katherine seemed to consider the blonde's words while Caroline thought about what she had been implying. She knew that outsiders might look at the situation and see something salacious but she hadn't expected Klaus's family to. Granted, she didn't know any of them, didn't really know Klaus either, but after the discussion during the interview and the reaction that she got at her overreaction, she didn't think it would ever be brought up again. Caroline figured she was wrong. They were going to run into this response repeatedly, but it didn't make her regret her decision one bit.

Katherine saw the determination in the nanny's eyes and smiled. "Good, I'm glad to hear it."

Caroline was confused at her reaction. She expected the other woman to argue more or something. "That's it?"

"What else were you expecting?" Katherine asked as she took a sip of her tea.

"I…I don't know," Caroline admitted as she glanced between Sage and Katherine. "More of a fight?"

Katherine brought one of her manicured fingers up to her pursed lips before she spoke. "As you said, Nik hired you. Despite how I just acted, I do actually trust his judgment. And I like to think I am a good judge of character and you passed my test with flying colors. If you actually had taken this job for the reasons I alluded to, you would have been all bashful and stammering while trying to act offended. But you didn't."

She stepped closer before continuing. "I wasn't exaggerating earlier when I said we were a protective family. The siblings especially, but you'll find that I'm just as bad when it comes to Elijah and Daniel, of course, but also Nik and the twins. See their mother was my sister."

"Your sister?" Caroline repeated surprised.

"My twin sister, identical actually. Twins run in my family," Katherine answered. "Tell me Caroline, what have you been told about Tatia?"

"Nothing," Caroline replied. "Well, next to nothing. Ayanna briefed me on a lot of the family history, but not her. Klaus briefly mentioned her when we were negotiating my contract, stated that she has no legal rights to them, and she hasn't seen them since they were young."

"That's an understatement, they were still in diapers," Katherine scoffed.

Caroline felt like her mouth almost hit the floor with Katherine's admission. Lexi and Henry's mother had left them while they were still babies? What kind of mother could do that to her children that she carried inside her body? She understood Klaus's hostility when she had brought up his ex-wife before. "That must make things difficult for your relationship with your sister."

Katherine moved back towards Daniel and kissed the top of his head lightly before looking back at Caroline. "I no longer have a relationship with my sister. When she abandoned her children and husband, she left me too. So, I made my choice; if Tatia came back, I would choose Elijah and his family. We have not heard from her since she left, so I think she knows my choice."

"Have any of you looked for her?"

"No, why would we? She deserted us," Katherine answered.

"I just thought Klaus…"

"That Klaus would look for her? No, he didn't. He has never stated exactly why to me though, truthfully, I never asked. Nik is a difficult guy to explain but two things that define him loyalty and family. Tatia disappointed him in both areas," The brunette explained. "So you can understand where my initial distrust of you comes from."

"But you trust me now?" Caroline asked.

"No, but I like you and that's a step in the right direction," Katherine admitted with a smile. "So tell me, how are you settling in?"

Feeling as if she just had been hit with whiplash due the change in subjects, Caroline stuttered out an answer. Sage and Katherine stayed with her for another hour, talking about various subjects regarding Caroline's background and what not, but the information that she had learned was always at the forefront of her mind.

**Well what did you guys think of seeing a little bit more Katherine and Sage? Plus you got to learn a little bit more about Klaus's ex-wife. And in case anyone wants to know, I picture Daniel looking like a little Elijah. The Mikaelson genes are stronger than the Pierce/Petrova ones. **


	8. Part 7 The Honeymoon is Over

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Your eyes are not deceiving you, I have updated again. I'm doing so for several reasons **

**1. I'm almost done with my next part so I feel confident that my buffer is in place**

**2. This part and the one before are short, don't worry they will be longer from here on out.**

**3. I'm smiling from ear to ear from last night's episode**

**Also wow, interesting to see everyone's reaction to Katherine's first meeting with Caroline. Some of you thought she was spot on while others of you were mad she was so mean to Caroline. Glad that she made an impression and you guys are interested to learn more about Tatia because there will be more of both later in the story. **

**PS. Thanks for all of the reviews! This story is over 100 now and I'm just completely shocked by that so thank you all.**

**And thanks to CeCeVolume for all of her help with this. **

Part 7

Klaus walked inside of the house and was surprised when he was met with silence. He couldn't remember a time when that had ever happened unless it was late and the twins were already in bed. However, it was almost lunchtime on a Saturday, so he knew that was not the case. His children fancied a lie in most weekends, but not until almost noon.

Today had been one of the few Saturday mornings where his part of the family business required him to work. Occasionally, they had clients or events that happened on weekends that they just couldn't schedule for normal working hours. He didn't like giving up the time with Lexi and Henry, but he had explained it to them earlier in the week as well as told Caroline that he needed her. Thankfully, she had been fine with it and had no plans that she had to reschedule. He was glad that he had been up front in the beginning about his schedule. The kids hadn't been particularly happy, but she assured him she'd get them over it.

It had been a month since Caroline had moved in and things had been going famously. She brought a different kind of energy to the house and the occupants in it then Ayanna had. Not better or worse, just different, and he found the change quite nice. That made the quietness of the house even odder to him.

Klaus briefly wondered if perhaps Caroline hadn't taken them out for a bit when he heard the door to the basement open and the woman he had just been wondering about came out with her hands full with a laundry basket. She was dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a long sleeve t-shirt with her hair pulled up. He had noticed over the past month that she always seemed to have her hair put up in some fashion when watching the twins. Her eyes met his and he noticed for the lack of the bright welcoming smile he had been used to seeing when he arrived home. "What's wrong?"

"Well the honeymoon is officially over," Caroline announced

"Come again?" Klaus asked utterly confused by what she was talking about.

"You know that period at the beginning of a relationship when everything is perfect and nothing bad can happen? Well, it took a month, but ours is over," Caroline explained with a huff as she sat the basket of clean laundry at the bottom of the stairs before turning back to Klaus. "The kids are mad at me."

"Whatever for?" Klaus asked. He couldn't imagine what she had done that would make Henry and Lexi mad at her. According to them, she was perfect and could do no wrong. It was quite irritating actually; while his kids had never been very difficult, they were still kids and misbehaved or didn't listen at times. However, it seemed that their attitudes didn't extend to Caroline in that respect. When she told them to wash their hands or brush their teeth, they raced each other to the bathroom instead of trying to claim they already had; or if they left their stuff lying around and Caroline reminded them that it needed to be put away, they did it without argument while if he had been the one, they balked and bickered over who was supposed to do it. He had yet to ask Caroline what her secret was, but it seemed that her spell over them had been broken.

"After they got up this morning and had breakfast, I made them get dressed before we got to work. Henry finished his weekend homework yesterday while we were at the gym watching Lexi, but she still had some so I sat her down to do it while Henry started on his room. They both started whining and pouting about having to do anything on Saturday morning," Caroline explained. "If I hadn't separated them, I know they would have tried to gang up on me to get me to back down."

Klaus smiled a little at her frustration. "Well, love, you can't expect them to be happy about it. Most Saturdays around here, we lie around in their pajamas and watch cartoons while eating breakfast. It's their time to relax and just be kids."

"I know, but…wait did you just call me 'love'?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know; did I?" Klaus asked as he replayed his words in his head and found she was right, he had called her love. He hadn't even realized that he had done it; it was just a natural way of addressing friends or family. "I did. I apologize if it makes you uncomfortable; I often call the women around me love or sweetheart. You could say it's a British thing."

"No, not uncomfortable. I just wasn't expecting it, though I guess I should have," Caroline stated. She had heard him refer to Mindy as sweetheart before at his office and other people when he was on the phone with them, but to hear him use a nickname with her had just been odd. And not necessarily in a bad way, it made her feel that he was comfortable around her like she had found herself becoming around him.

"I'll try not to do it again."

"No, it's fine. Really," Caroline assured him. It might be very inappropriate to some people for their boss to call them 'love', but it wasn't as if he was being a creep about it; it was the culture he was brought up in. She had heard Rebekah do the same thing a time or two she thought. "It's your house; you should be able to talk however you want.

Klaus nodded in acknowledgment. "Um, what were you going to say? Before about why you have the kids working on chores…"

"Right," Caroline said trying to go back to her argument before she had gotten distracted. "I realize that usually the kids clean up their room and finish their homework on Sunday afternoons, but that's on a normal weekend."

"That's the usual schedule," Klaus stated. "The kids and I like it."

"I understand, but you had to work this morning, which means you lost time with them. I just thought that if they got their stuff done now, while you were gone, that it would give you more time with them tomorrow," Caroline explained. "Kind of gain back the time lost today."

Klaus had had every intention of taking his kids side on their argument with Caroline. After all, he was the one who had started the little Saturday ritual of starting the weekend with a lazy morning but after hearing Caroline's explanation, any bit of argument left him. She was doing what she could to make sure he had time with the twins. "Thank you."

"Yeah, well, I know how much you cherish the time with them," Caroline acknowledged turning her eyes away from his face. She hadn't expected the intensity of the expression on his face.

"And I'm sure that they didn't give you a chance to explain why you were making them do it, did they?" Klaus asked.

"Not so much, no. Seven year olds don't really listen to reason when they are mad," Caroline said with a smile.

"I'll talk to them," Klaus assured her.

"No, it's okay. They have to discover for themselves that while they might think I'm fun, I'm still the adult in charge and I'm going to do stuff sometimes that they don't like. And they still have to do it. They should be about finished," Caroline declared before heading into the kitchen. "I went ahead and made lunch since you said you would be coming home just about the time to eat. Nothing big, just some soup and sandwiches."

"That's great, thanks," Klaus said gratefully; he had thought about just ordering in lunch or seeing what they had in the freezer. He watched as she retrieved bowls, plates, and silverware. "Are you eating with us?"

"Nope, thanks. Now that you're home, I'm going to put the laundry upstairs, change and then head out. Girls' night with Bonnie and Elena. It's going to be an overnight thing, so I won't be home until tomorrow," Caroline explained as she finished getting everything that they would need for lunch. "So are you good? Cause if you are, I'm going to go…"

"Yes, have a good night Caroline. Have fun with you friends."

"Bye Klaus."

**So what did you guys think? They are definitely getting more and more comfortable with each other are they not?**

**Anyone think it's funny that the twins are so well behaved with Caroline? That happens all of the time with my kids, I've had coaches, teachers, and parents of their friends go on and on about how sweet and polite my kids are when they are around them. I'm not saying that my kids are horrible at home but they definitely put on a different face when they are gone. **


	9. Part 8 Pumpkins & Halloween

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:Hello my lovelies, here is my update for the week. I'll only be updating once this week, as soon as I posted last week I was blocked on finishing the part I was writing on and now my buffer of parts I have written to parts I have posted has shrank a lot. I don't want to leave you guys hanging without updates so I'll go back to posting once a week until I get the buffer up again. With the holidays coming and with it all of the family/school stuff with my family my time to write might not be what it is now. **

**I just want to thank everyone who has left me reviews about enjoying the last part, I'm trying to keep things as realistic as possible when it comes to the kids so I'm glad to see that everyone is enjoying that. Also thank you to everyone who has favorited or followed.**

**Thanks again to CeCeVolume for her help in betaing.**

Part 8

The Mikaelson kitchen looked like Fall had exploded. There were newspapers lying all over the table with piles of pumpkin guts, a few pumpkin seeds, beautiful colored leaves, remnants of caramel apples and popcorn strewn about. But Caroline thought that the mess was worth it after seeing the smiles on the kids' faces all afternoon.

It was the day before Halloween so Caroline had decided to take the kids to get pumpkins to carve. However, it wasn't just a simple trip to the supermarket; no they had gone to a nearby Autumn Festival that was complete with every Fall indulgence you could ask for. They had spent hours playing there before coming back home and getting started on the pumpkins that they had acquired. Now she just needed to get the kitchen cleaned up before their father got home.

"Daddy! You're home," Lexi squealed before launching herself into her father's arms as he walked into the kitchen.

_'Damn it. He would be home early,_' Caroline thought as she smiled in greeting, until she noticed the frown on his face. "Hey, sorry about the mess. I was just about to start working on cleaning it up."

Klaus's eyes skimmed over the carnage that covered his kitchen as he picked up his daughter. When he had gotten home, he had heard noise in the kitchen, and had come in search of the kids. He wasn't surprised to see them busy with some activity, but he felt disappointed hit him when he saw what they had been doing. There were several pumpkins sat on the table and stuff everywhere else. But it wasn't the mess that had him irritated. "You guys have been carving the jack-o-lanterns?"

"Dad, you should see all of the guts that came out of mine," Henry said excitedly from his spot at the table. "There was so much; Caroline said it was because I had to pick the biggest pumpkin I could find. It was warm, squishy, and slimy. Totally gross, but totally cool."

"No, it was just totally gross. I only pulled out a little bit; Caroline helped get the rest of it out. Just like you do, Daddy," Lexi explained from her perch on her father's hip before she wiggled her fingers in front of his face. Klaus noticed that they were stained with various colors. "And look, we got to draw on windows too."

"What?" Klaus asked perplexed.

"We got to draw on the store windows," Henry stated.

"It's okay. Some of the shops around the festival we were at, they were really into Halloween so they put tape on the windows in graphs and allow kids or anyone to draw Halloween pictures; they had the markers and everything there to use. There were still a couple of empty spots, so we let the kids draw on them. Um, I took pictures of the artwork since we couldn't take it with us," Caroline explained. She could see Klaus still had a frown and, if she wasn't mistaken, there was a bit of anger in his eyes. He couldn't really be that mad about the mess in the kitchen or on the kids could he? She turned away from them to start picking up the mess.

"Can we put them up?" Lexi asked. "I want to have art up like you, Daddy."

"Sure, Lex, we can put them up," Klaus replied with a smile towards her.

"But first, can we do our pumpkins?" Lexi asked.

"Pumpkins?" Klaus repeated. He wasn't sure why she was asking about the pumpkins; hadn't they already done the carving? He knew it was silly to be mad; it was such a simple thing. But it still hurt to think he had missed out on something that they did every year.

"Yeah, the pumpkins," Henry said as if his father had lost his mind.

"I thought you guys already did them?" Klaus asked.

"No way, we do them with you. We do every year," Lexi wiggled out of her father's arms before heading over to sit by her brother. "We have been drawing what we want them to look like. Can we do them?"

"Pleeeaaase..." They both looked at him with pleading eyes and their little hands clasped in front of them as a sign of them begging. Klaus smiled at them before nodding. "Give me a minute to talk to Caroline."

The twins let out a cry of victory before they turned their attention back to their drawings. Just then timer on the oven went off. He noticed that Caroline's eyes lit up when it did before she rushed to the oven. "The pumpkin seeds are done roasting."

"You roasted the seeds?" Klaus asked.

"Of course, why throw them away?" Caroline asked, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she looked at him. The distraction caused her to bump the inside of her arm on the hot rack, burning her and she almost dropped the cookie sheet. "Ouch!"

Klaus saw what had happened and rushed forward to help her. He grabbed a towel, before he took the tray from her and set it on top of the stove. Once he did, he turned to Caroline to see her holding her arm just below the ugly red mark on the inside of her left arm. "Henry, go get the first aid kit."

"It's okay; it's just a little red," Caroline said as Henry scampered out of the room.

"That's going to blister," Klaus interjected before he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her over to the sink. He turned on the cold water, but made sure not to turn the pressure too high so not to cause her pain. He moved his hand to her elbow and directed it to the water. "Put it under the water. It will take the sting out. Then we'll get some ointment on it before it gets too bad."

Henry returned then with the kit and handed it to his father before gazing at Caroline's arm. "Wicked."

"Henry," Klaus chastised. He knew that the boy was just interested in the wound like he was in anything that had to do with science, but now was not the time for him to be staring at Caroline like she was on the Discovery Channel.

"Sorry," Henry apologized though he didn't look away. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Sweetie. Your dad is going to patch me up real quick. Thanks for getting the first aid kit," Caroline assured him. He looked at her for a minute, as if he wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not before deciding she was and rejoining Lexi at the table.

"Thank you," Klaus said, trying to express his gratitude. She looked at him oddly before he went explained. "For waiting for me. I was irritated when I thought I might have missed out on our pumpkin tradition."

Caroline looked up and saw that the frown and look in his eyes was gone. It made her heart flutter a little at the thought of how he had been upset over the possibility of missing a moment with his kids. "It's all Henry and Lexi have talked about since I told them where we were going. They said that you all do one, so I thought it would be easier if we got the messy part out of the way. Plus, they would have driven me nuts if they had been stuck staring at the pumpkins as they waited."

"Again thank you," Klaus declared as he opened the kit and started sifting through to find the burn ointment. Once he did, he reached over to pull her arm out of the water towards him and placed it on the counter. The small red mark had already darkened considerably and started to blister. As he looked over the wound, the faint tattoo just above the burn caught his eye. He remembered seeing it when he first looked at her burn but hadn't paid much attention to it; he had been focused on her injury. It was of a bird, a dove outlined in blue, very light almost inconspicuous. In fact, he couldn't remember seeing it until today. It seemed very…Caroline.

Caroline watched as Klaus lightly patted the ointment onto the burn. The skin of her arm felt very warm, and she wasn't completely sure it was solely because of the burn. He placed a large bandage over the area to keep it covered. As soon as he was done, she pulled her arm away. "Katherine wanted me to remind you that dinner will be early tomorrow night, that way you guys will have plenty of time to eat before you take the kids trick or treating."

"Did she call here?" Klaus asked. He used a paper towel to wipe the ointment off his fingers before he pulled out his phone to make sure he hadn't missed a call from his sister in law.

"No, she was with us earlier. We met her and Daniel as well as Sage and her kids at the festival we went to. They called me this morning to see if we were interested in going," Caroline clarified. Since first meeting Katherine and Sage, they had become sociable, not necessarily friends but working that way. "The kids wore their costumes earlier, it was part of the festival but I made sure that they were hung up. Their buckets are up there on the hangers as well. You guys should have a blast."

Klaus nodded. "What about you? Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

"Bonnie, Damon, Elena and I are going to a Halloween party at a friend of Damon's. We are going to dress up, and have fun," Caroline replied as she got up and started cleaning the kitchen up

Klaus smiled. "You have a costume?"

"Yeah, I always get dressed up."

"The kids will love seeing that."

"Um, no. I'm getting dressed at Bonnie's place," Caroline said uneasily. "It's not exactly PG."

"Oh," Klaus replied in understanding as his mind conjured up various costume that he had seen when he had taken the kids shopping. He had wandered around the store while they were trying to decide what they wanted to be and had seen the wall of adult costumes and what little the women's consisted of. He couldn't help it as his mind wandered to which one of them Caroline might have chosen to wear. A couple of the ones he had seen sprung to his mind instantly; a little Red Riding Hood outfit that would make any man looking at her want to be the Big Bad Wolf to chase after her and a vampire seductress costume that would have people lining up to bare their necks. "Right."

"I mean, it's not like its lingerie or anything," Caroline explained, whispering the last part. She didn't want her boss to think she was a slut. Her costume wasn't that revealing, but she didn't think she should wear it around the kids; it was party wear.

"No need to explain. You can wear whatever you want, it's your choice. I know Bekah has worn some stuff in the past that made us not want to let her out the house, sometimes it wasn't even Halloween." Klaus's face grimaced when he thought of some of the arguments all of the brothers used to get into with Rebekah over her choice of wardrobe; Kol didn't help much either with some of the comments he had thrown in.

"It's just a little tight and shows some skin," Caroline declared as he pulled the trashcan over and started helping her clean up the mess from the counters. "And the party probably will run late so I'm going to stay at Bonnie's. That way I don't wake anyone up when I come in."

"You don't have to, you know. I mean this is your home as well; you can come and go as you please. I'll make sure the kids don't bother you," Klaus announced. Caroline had made the habit on most weekends when she was off duty of staying at her friend Bonnie's apartment. He could understand some of her reasoning; it was hard to live where you worked but he didn't want her to feel like she had to.

Caroline just smiled and nodded as they continued to clean up the mess from the day.

**I hope you liked this part, the Halloween theme will continue to the next part. **

**The festival and drawing of the Halloween art on the windows is a real thing, just not in Boston that I know of. Most of the time when I place a fic in a city I try to keep events or activities that actually take place there, but in this case I'm using something that happens in my hometown. There is a small town within the city I live in where Halloween is a huge event and a week ahead of time they set stuff up and invite people to draw Halloween art on all of the shop windows. Since I'm dealing with Klaus' kids, I think it was fitting. **


	10. Part 9 Late Night Run-ins

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well here is the latest part, which I mentioned before is a continuation of the Halloween section. I know a lot of you were anxious for it so I wanted to get it out early.**

**Thank you to everyone who is reading! It means so much to me that people seem to enjoy this story. **

**And thanks to CeCe Volume for all of her help betaing. **

Part 9 Late Night Run ins

It was late, the house dark and quiet. It had taken Klaus forever to get the twins to bed after coming down from the excitement of trick or treating and the sugar high from the bounty they had gathered. Thankfully, once he got them into their beds and motionless for longer than a couple minutes, they passed out.

Their father, however, was still wide-awake and decided to take advantage of the solitude. After changing into something comfortable, he headed into his studio where he let his muse lead him on a new piece. His art had always been his escape, especially during his darkest times, but his art was different now. He used it to unwind from the stresses of his life, to empty his mind and let his muse take him where it wanted to go.

A couple of hours later, he had made significant progress on his latest painting and decided he needed to take a break. Klaus wiped his hands on a rag as he left his studio and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen to get something to drink. He walked confidently through the darkened house; he had lived in this house for over five years, knew it like the back of his hand, and navigated with only the streetlights from outside to guide him. Therefore, he was surprised when he rounded the corner to walk through foyer and bumped into a soft body.

Klaus heard a female voice shriek before he felt a blow to his legs, knocking them out from under him. As he felt himself falling backwards, he reached out to try to grab something to stop his descent. However, his hand only found the body he had collided with, pulling it down on top of him as he fell. They landed in a heap on the floor, he on his back and the other person on top of him. He felt long curly hair brushing his face and knew who his attacker had been. "Caroline?"

"Klaus?" she replied sounding surprised through the muffle of her hair. "What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he retored as he reached up and brushed her hair out of her face. His eyes were readjusting to the minimal light and saw that her face was closer to his than he had thought, only a few inches away. It was then that he became very aware of their current position.

The combination of her being pressed against him and the fact that her top seemed to start half way down her chest created too much of a temptation that Klaus couldn't help it as his eyes dropped from her face to the exposed cleavage. The upper swells of her breasts were exposed to the faint light in the room and her creamy white skin seemed to glow brightly. To make matters worse, her legs had become entangled with his in the fall, causing one of her thighs to rest between his, right against a certain part of his anatomy that was also realizing her close proximity. It had been a very long time since he had company in his bed and suddenly having a beautiful woman on top of him was causing him to remember quickly how long it had been.

"I am so sorry," Caroline apologized. "I didn't think anyone would be up."

The irony of her choice of words was not lost on Klaus. The sweatpants he wore were thin and wouldn't do much to hide his bodies' reaction to her. "I was just going to the kitchen for some water, some cold water."

Caroline's eyebrows crinkled together when she heard Klaus's voice, it sounded…off. Like it was strained and she didn't know if it was the darkness of the room or what but it seemed like his blue eyes had darkened some. If she didn't know any better, she could swear he was looking at her with lust. Of course then she realized their current positions and the air around her suddenly felt very hot. It felt as if she had molded to him, she could feel every hard muscle of his body beneath her, so that there was hardly a gap anywhere between them. She admitted that it felt surprising good before she remember that it was her boss lying underneath her and she suddenly sat up. "So sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's okay, Caroline, really." Klaus quickly brought his hands down to her hips to try and help her up as well as to keep her from moving around too much and discovering what her being on top of him had done. Once she was off of him, he sat up and pulled his legs up to try hide his issue. "It was dark, and I should count myself lucky that you only knocked me on my ass."

Despite feeling embarrassed, Caroline couldn't help but laugh at his comment as she climbed off of him. She quickly moved to the wall and flipped on the lights. She blinked at the sudden light before turning to offer to help him up but saw that he had already gotten up and heading towards the kitchen. She followed him quickly and entered just in time to see him getting into the fridge and retrieving a bottle of water. "Did you want anything?"

"Yes, water, please," Caroline replied. Klaus shut the door after he grabbed out a second bottle and move towards her. When he did, she noticed for the first time that he looked like he was dressed for bed in sweats and a tank. The dark sweats hung low and loose on his hips while the tank was snug and fitted along his muscular chest. His skin had a healthy color to it and Caroline was surprised to spy tattoo ink peaking up from under the tank on the left side of his chest. She couldn't see all of it but didn't think it would be proper to ask about it. She also noticed that he seemed to be covered in flecks of what looked like paint. There was also some on his hands and face.

"So, did the party end up being a bust?" Klaus asked as he handed her the bottle of water before moving back and reclining against the counter. As he did, his eyes raked over her, taking in the costume, he had been curious about the day before. It was neither the vampire nor Little Red Riding hood but he thought it was supposed to be a witch considering she was holding a black pointed hat but he had never seen a witch dressed like she was in the movies. She wore a tight purple corset rimmed with black lace that pushed her chest up, and a short black skirt that looked like spider webs. The skirt was so short that it would have showed most of her long legs if it wasn't for the knee-high boots. Definitely a wicked witch.

"No, the party was good. We all had a good time, that's why I came home," Caroline replied. Klaus's eyebrow quirked up in question so she explained, "Bonnie ran into an old boyfriend and they got to talking. I decided to come home so that she could have some privacy to get…reacquainted."

"Ah," Klaus smirked in understanding. "So you wanted to make sure she got a treat for Halloween."

"Something like that," Caroline said as she leaned forward against the counter. "So how did trick or treating go?"

Klaus smiled. "It was good. The kids were good and had a great time."

"They must have been exhausted; otherwise I would have thought we'd have woken them up with all of the noise we made earlier," Caroline stated before she realized how that sounded. She looked at Klaus and could tell by the smirk on his face that he had picked up on the slip. "I mean, when you surprised me."

"Yeah, of course," Klaus agreed, trying not to laugh when he saw the faint redness on her cheeks before she looked towards the ground and her hair fell into her face, blocking the view. He remembered earlier when it had brushed his face and it made him realize something. "Your hair is down."

Caroline looked at him oddly as she brought her hands up and tried to smooth down her curls. "Yes, and it's a mess."

"That's not why I said that. It's just, I don't believe I've seen you with your hair down once since you moved in here," Klaus explained. It was the truth, he couldn't remember once seeing her hair down since she had been there. Granted he didn't see her every time she left the house but he lived with her, and it seemed odd.

"I always wear my hair up when I'm working. Elena always teases me that it's a sign that I'm at work, like it's my uniform or something." Caroline explained as she tried to comb her mess of curls back away from her face. "I started it years ago when I volunteered in the nursery at my church and the babies were always grabbing onto it. It made it a lot easier and my hair stays pretty much sticky free."

"Sounds like a good idea, one that Bekah might want to take into consideration when the new baby is born. She loves all of her nieces and nephews, but she does not like them doing things to her hair." Klaus joked as he took another sip from his bottle and watched Caroline mess with her hair a bit more. He could understand her reasoning behind her choice of hairstyle, but he had to admit he preferred it down. He remembered how it felt in his hands earlier, soft and silky. He noticed she was staring at him, obviously having said something to him and he shook himself out of the trance. "Can you repeat that sweetheart?"

"I asked what have you been up to since the kids went to bed. You look like you are covered in paint."

"That's because I have been painting, up in my studio."

Caroline's eyes widened. In all of the time she'd been living with him, she didn't know that Klaus's artistic abilities extended beyond restoration. Sure the twins had mentioned stuff about their dad and art before but she had always assumed they meant his work at Originals. "I didn't realize that you did that."

"What do you think I do in my studio?" Klaus asked.

"I didn't realize it was studio. You said it was your work space that could mean a lot of things like an office," Caroline explained before she realized something. "So the paintings and the artwork around the house, they are yours?"

Klaus nodded before she commented. "They're beautiful. The sketches of the twins, I should have realized that they didn't come from a hired artist."

"I've been drawing them since they were born; if I hung every drawing we could wallpaper the entire house probably a couple of times," Klaus said with a smile as he thought of all of the billion or so sketches he'd made of Lexi and Henry over the years. It had been hard to part with every drawing he'd made of the kids, it was as if he was throwing away memories, but eventually he realized that he could only keep some of the best sketches or final pieces or he was going to end up living like a hoarder in a fire hazard full of paper.

"How long have you been doing your own art?"

Klaus shrugged, "As long as I can remember, never grew out of scribbling pictures on any bit of paper I could find. Then when I was in secondary school, I had a teacher who noticed my work and encouraged me."

Caroline smiled as she motioned her hand over him. "Did they teach you in school about not wearing your art? Or did you miss that class?"

Klaus looked down, saw what she meant and went to the sink and started washing his hands and arms. "I tried to get most of it off before I leave the studio."

Caroline watched him clean up in the sink, the muscles in his arms moving and flexing slightly as he did. When he was done, he turned to look at her with a smile. "Better?"

"Yeah, except…you missed a little on your face. Here," Caroline answered as she moved closer to him. Before she realized what she was doing, she reached forward and ran the pad of her thumb along his temple removing the paint. The moment her thumb touched his face, the blonde could swear she felt a jolt spark through her. And the way that Klaus's eyes flicked to her told her that she wasn't the only one to feel it. She quickly yanked her hand back and stepped away. "You know, I think it's time to go to bed. I mean, for me…I'm tired."

Klaus watched as she scurried out of the kitchen and fled to her room, at least he assumed she did. He waited a few minutes before he too headed up the stairs slowly, his studio was on the top floor but her room was right by the stairs and he didn't want to run into her again. Once he got it cleaned up, he headed to his own room to take a shower, a cold one.

**Well there you go, I hope you guys liked how I had Klaus see Caroline in her costume. **

**So I hope you guys liked this part, we had them sharing a little more and some sexual tension. And remember the hair thing, it might come up later. **

**Also, it might be strange that Klaus was walking around the house in the dark but I do it all of the time instead of turning on the lights. My hubby says I'm weird but that's only because I have better night vision than him and have scared the crap out of him at times. ;) **

**I will post again next week, no hiatus for me!**

**Don't forget to follow me on tumblr: livingblondegirl dot tumblr dot com**


	11. Part 10 Above and Beyond

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, the responses from the last part have been amazing and I'm now over 200 reviews. That just blows my mind and I can't ****thank you enough! **

**Did everyone survive the mid-season finale? I just loved it!**

**To the Guest who asked about Klaus's tattoo: it will be shown more later. As for what it is, I'm not saying but its very incharacter for him in this story.**

**To the Guest signed in as Rebecca: There will be some drama coming but it's a still away **

**This next part might be a bit of a let down after the last one. It's kind of a filler part I guess. Don't worry more sexual tension will come in later parts. **

Part 10

"How much longer Caroline?" Henry asked huffily, not hiding the irritation in his voice a bit.

"About an hour and a half," Caroline answered as she looked up from her book and at the clock. When she saw the time, she scowled. They were at Lexi's gym for her practice and Henry was bored, beyond bored.

Normally, he didn't have any problem keeping himself occupied while they were there but this week was trying on him. Lexi had her first meet coming up, so she had been working extra hard, which meant more time at the gym, which meant Henry and Caroline spent more time at the gym. Most of the older girls' parents simply dropped them off, but Lexi and her age group were too young for that so they were camped out in the little waiting area. There was a restroom and reasonably comfortable chairs, but neither one of those matter to the seven-year-old boy sitting by her right now. "Did you finish your book?"

"Yes."

"What about you play one of your games?" Caroline asked as she motioned to his handheld gaming unit but Henry only shrugged.

"I already beat the game I brought and I don't want to play anymore."

"Well, let's see what I have in my bag," Caroline said as she pulled out the aforementioned bag. It was actually a bag she had for the kids; they were by no means babies who needed a diaper bag but Caroline had found it handy to keep some stuff on hand when they were going to be out for a while. She made sure to put it in a leather messenger bag so that the kids wouldn't try to claim it made them look babyish. "I've got coloring books, drawing paper, pencils, and crayons."

"I don't feel like drawing," Henry said with a pout.

Caroline's hand closed around a small cardboard box, which she then held up in triumph. "How about we play cards?"

Henry seemed to debate the idea, she could tell he was interested but wasn't ready to give up on his crabbiness yet. She just smiled, as she brushed his shoulder with hers. "Come on, we can play any game you want."

"Okay." The little boy huffed before he moved over a chair so they could use the one between them as a table.

They were halfway through their second game of Go Fish when movement out of the corner of her eye caught Caroline's attention and she saw that the original version of the little boy in front of her had arrived. She kept her mouth shut though because she could tell by the way that Klaus snuck up behind Henry that he was intending on surprising him, which he did just a minute later.

Henry squealed in surprise before he turned around and saw who his attacker was. A smile lit up his face before he jumped on him. "Daddy! You scared me:"

Klaus laughed at his son's antics as they horsed around a little bit, making sure to not disturb the other people around them. After a few minutes, Henry climbed on his back and rested his chin on his dad's shoulder. "Are you here to take me home?"

He could see the look of hope in Henry's eyes but shook his head. "Sorry, buddy, but no. I came to hang out with you while we wait for Lexi so that Caroline can leave."

The aforementioned blonde saw the disappointment in Henry's eyes and made a quick decision. "Actually why don't you go ahead and take him home? I'll stay and bring home Lexi after she's done."

"Caroline, you don't have to," Klaus argued even as Henry began to nod his head in agreement while jumping up and down in excitement. He had to admit that the offer sounded good to him; he hadn't been looking forward to hanging around the gym and heading home to spend time with just his son sounded good. However, he didn't want to take advantage of his nanny's kindness either.

"It's really okay. Henry has been really good this past week dealing with all of the extra time spent here and he's really bored," Caroline declared. "Take him home, I'm sure he's dying for some guy time with his dad. I was just going to go home and read but I've got my book. I'm fine here."

Klaus opened his mouth to argue but stopped when he saw that he was outnumbered and Caroline was looking at him with a stubbornness in her eyes that he had seen her use on the kids to show them she wasn't backing down. "Alright, I know when not to argue. We'll see you at home."

After the two of them left she sat back down and reopened the book she had been previously reading. About an hour later, Caroline felt someone walk up next to her and clear their throat. She looked up and saw one of Lexi's coaches looking back at her. "Hello."

"Hi, we haven't officially met, but I'm Anna, one of the coaches here."

"Yeah, I know Lexi talks about you and Pearl all of the time. I'm Caroline," she said as she put her hand out and the two shook hands.

"It's nice to finally meet you Caroline, Lexi talks about you a lot too. She is actually why I'm here."

Caroline's eyebrows crinkled in concern as she looked out onto the floor to check on her. When she saw the little blonde on the balance beam, perfectly fine, her concern diminished but she was confused. She motioned to the open chair next to her and Anna took the offered seat.

"I'm not sure how much you know about the gym here, but we have a booster club that coordinates various fundraisers for the girls'. The funds we raise goes to new equipment, leotards and warm up suits, parties stuff like that. Trying to keep the cost down for parents."

"That sounds like a good plan, I'm sure the parents appreciate it," Caroline stated.

"Yes, they do. Actually, the booster club is run by a combination of parents and coaches, the coach in charge is me and I need a parent to spearhead their side as well. I was hoping that you would help me with that," Anna declared.

Caroline's eyes widened in surprise. "You're serious? But I'm not a parent, I'm just a nanny."

"I know," Anna admitted. "Normally I wouldn't ask, but I really need someone. Lexi hasn't stopped talking about you, about how her dad has you running the house and that you used to run stuff when you were in a cheerleader in school. I've got parents who are willing to help, but no one to spearhead this thing. I promise it won't take up a ton of your time, we can meet while you are here with Lexi."

Anna's desperation could clearly be seen in her eyes and she felt bad for the other woman. She had to admit that the offer sounded somewhat appealing, she had kind of missed that part of her life the last few years but Caroline wasn't sure if it was her place to say yes or not. "I'm not saying no, but not saying yes either. Can I think about it and let you know?"

A bright smile appeared on Anna's face and relief flooded her eyes. "Thank you, just for being willing to consider it."

The two spoke for a few more minutes before Anna had to leave to finish up the end of practice. Shortly thereafter, Lexi came bounding out talking a mile a minute about what she had been working on. Caroline smiled as she corralled the little girl into her street clothes. She was talking so quickly that Caroline almost didn't hear her question. "Caroline, you're coming to my meet, aren't you?"

"Your meet?"

"You have to come. You have to please?" Lexi begged.

"We'll see, okay," Caroline replied as she finished helping Lexi get dressed before they left to head for home.

The wind had picked up considerably, making the November chill even worse. By the time they got to the house, Caroline felt half frozen. Therefore, when she walked into a warm house smelling of Italian food, her eyes almost rolled back into her head in bliss. She and Lexi hung up their coats before Caroline followed her nose but found the kitchen empty.

It was then that she heard a loud noise coming from downstairs. She headed downstairs where the playroom was located and found Klaus and Henry playing video games animatedly. The two of them were so caught up in it that they didn't notice Caroline standing in the doorway. She couldn't help but notice how young and carefree Klaus looked as he focused on the game. It was cute.

She didn't want to disturb so she went back upstairs and into the kitchen. She started making herself some tea to warm her up. She had just finished when Klaus appeared. "Hey."

"Hello to you too, love," Klaus greeted as he went over to the oven and checked the food inside. Henry hadn't been happy that he had to pause their game but once he explained that if he didn't that dinner would burn and they wouldn't have anything to eat, his son was more than happy to pause it.

"So I have a couple of things I need to talk to you about."

Klaus's eyebrow quirked up in question. "Sounds serious, should I be concerned?"

"No, nothing like that," Caroline assured him. "Lexi asked me earlier if I would be at her first meet."

"I'm not surprised that she asked; what did you tell her?" Klaus asked.

"That I wasn't sure. I mean, I wasn't sure if it would be okay with you," she replied unsure.

"It's up to you," Klaus answered. "To be honest, it's about 5 hours of waiting for 5 minutes of activity. It might not be how you want to spend your day off."

"I know, it's just she's been working so hard and it means so much to her," Caroline explained. "I don't want to disappoint her."

Klaus looked at the blonde-haired woman across from him as he realized how lucky he was that Stefan had mentioned her to him. They weren't just a job to her she truly cared for them and that meant a lot to him. "Then it's settled."

Caroline smiled at his statement. "There's one other thing. Today after you took Henry home, Anna came to talk to me."

"Pearl's daughter?"

"The same. She asked me if I'd be willing to help out with the Booster Club at the Gym. I reminded her that I'm not a mom but she said she didn't care. She's desperate for help," Caroline acknowledged. "It sounds interesting; I used to do stuff like this when I was in school. I told her I'd think on it but I wanted to talk to you first to make sure I wasn't overstepping."

"You are a unique woman, Caroline Forbes," Klaus declared. "If you want to help Anna, by all means don't let me stop you."

"Great. I'll let her know next time I see her," Caroline replied happily. "So what are you making, it smells delicious."

"Just one of those frozen lasagnas," Klaus answered with a shrug. "Are you hungry? There's plenty if you want to eat with us."

Caroline considered his offer for a minute. Despite making dinner for Klaus and the kids most nights, she rarely ate with them. After she was done for the night, she would give him time to spend with the kids by running errands, going out to grab food or coffee. But right now, the smell of the food and the company was too tempting. "That sounds great."

**So what did you guys think? Too Boring? Like I said above, it's kind of a filler part to move the story along. I will give you guys a bit of a spoiler, December will be a big month for the two of them in regards to moving things along. **

**Next week, I will be updating on Sunday instead of Monday or Tuesday due to Christmas. I'm hosting Christmas Eve at my house so I'll be busy. **


	12. Part 11 Thanksgiving

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. I am updating and it's only Wednesday. I had a crappy night last night after being mentally exhausted from writing a long part and I need the pick me up I get from you guys and your reviews. Don't worry, I'll still update on Sunday.**

**Glad everyone was okay with the lack of UST in the last part. When I said a slow build up, I definitely meant it. When the two of them do get together, they will be risking a lot; Caroline with her job/career and Klaus with his kids and their attachment to Caroline if something was to go wrong. I just can't write it any other way.**

**BTW, I have come up with an idea for a new story and I wanted to know what people thought of it. The relationship between Caroline and Klaus would be very different, you can find out more at the bottom Author's note, please let me know if you are interested in reading it. It won't take away from this story.**

**Okay, I'll stop rambling now.**

Part 11

"Can someone explode from eating too much?" Caroline asked with a groan as she flopped back on one of Elena's couches. They had just finished having Thanksgiving at Damon and Elena's townhouse. None of them were able to travel back to MysticFalls for the holiday so, years ago, the girls had started the tradition of making the meal together. Over the last few years, their threesome had grown to include Damon and Stefan when Elena and the elder Salvatore brother moved in together and Jeremy when he had followed his sister to Boston for school.

"Hey, no getting blood on the rug, Blondie," Damon bellowed from his spot where he and Jeremy were currently watching a football game.

Caroline stuck her tongue out him as Bonnie laughed. She walked over, lifted up her miserable friend's legs and sat down, placing them in her lap. "You probably shouldn't have eaten that second plate of food if you were going to eat a piece of pie, too, Care. Not to mention all of the samples while we were cooking."

"Now you tell me," Caroline complained. "I couldn't help it; all I had for breakfast was coffee. I fed the kids but didn't grab anything."

Elena's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "I thought you had the day off."

"I do."

"Then why were you feeding the kids?" Elena asked.

"Klaus was occupied with prepping some of the food for their meal and arguing with Rebekah on the phone. I was in the kitchen working on the little bit of stuff I had to do before I came over so I fed them," Caroline answered, not sure why Elena was looking at her so strangely. "What?"

"Nothing," Elena answered.

"No, that's not a nothing look Elena. I know that look, it's an 'I'm judging you look," Caroline replied.

"I'm not judging, I am just…concerned that you might be losing sight of where the line is between work time and your off time," Elena explained.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "The kids were hungry; yes they could have waited until their dad was off the phone, but why when it was such a simple thing to get them out some cereal? Besides from what I heard of his side of the argument, he wasn't getting off of the phone with Rebekah any time soon."

"Speaking of Rebekah, why didn't her and Stefan come over?" Bonnie asked, trying to break up the tension between her two friends.

"I told Baby Bro not to worry about it," Damon answered as he took a drink from his beer. "This is their first year doing holidays with both families. He and Rebekah were going to do the big meal with her family and come over for desert, but I shot him down. Thanksgiving has never been a big deal for us, so I told him it wasn't a problem to skip coming over."

"That was nice of you," Bonnie said skeptically. She hadn't always been a huge fan of Damon, but he surprised her sometimes with his selflessness towards his brother and Elena.

"It's not like I don't see him all of the time anyways," Damon replied. "And I'm sure I'll see him plenty while you guys are gone at Christmas."

"Ug, don't remind me," Jeremy complained before he looked over at his sister and her friends. "Did you guys have to book the earliest flight possible?"

"We wanted to get there early so we have as much time as possible before we head back, Jer," Elena explained.

"It's a three hour flight, not like it will take a day to get there," he argued.

"He's got a point, Elena," Caroline stated. "It's not like when I fly to Barbados a week later, taking an early makes sense then, otherwise we'd be arriving close to midnight."

"I'd rather be going with you, Caroline," Jeremy stated. "New Year's in the tropics sounds better than New Year's in New England."

"I will actually be working you know, granted it will be in a much warmer climate," Caroline agreed. She had decided to go on the offered trip with Klaus and the twins not long after she had moved in, and she was very happy that she had. It might be a working vacation, but it was still much warmer than Boston. "You guys should see the swimsuit I bought online."

"Why did you have to get a new suit?" Bonnie asked. "You have to have almost half a dozen suits."

"That are bikinis. I can't wear those with the kids while I'm working." She explained though she didn't mention how she thought it might be a little awkward to wear a skimpy suit around Klaus. She still remembered how tense things had gotten on Halloween night. She had avoided him the next day and thankfully things had been normal between them when she finally saw him after he got off work on the second day but she didn't want to get into another uncomfortable situation.

"Besides, don't want to blur the lines right?" Caroline said snippily at Elena as she got up and headed to the kitchen. She went straight to where they had left the opened bottles of wine and poured herself a glass. She wasn't really mad at her friend, but she didn't like her questioning her professionalism either. So what if she helped with the kids when it was technically her day off, it's not like she minded a bit nor were they a burden.

"Caroline, don't be like that," Elena whined as she followed her. "Look, I'm not trying to be a bitch here; I'm just trying to look out for you. You have a huge heart and I just worry that you are going to get too attached. It's okay to love your work, but I don't want you to get so lost in it that you forget about the rest of your life."

"So it's not my professionalism you're worried about; you think I'm just going to be a workaholic who has no life?" Caroline asked confused.

"She wouldn't put it like that, but yes," Bonnie answered for Elena.

"I go out," Caroline argued. "Every weekend we go out."

"Yes, we do and we have a blast, but Elena and I were thinking more of company of the opposite sex," Bonnie explained.

Caroline leaned on the counter and put her head in her hands. "I can't believe this. You guys are worried about my sex life or lack there of?"

"Hey, if Blondie needs a boytoy, I know of a couple of guys…" Damon called from the living room.

"NO! We are not having this conversation!" Caroline exclaimed; feeling unbelievably embarrassed. She looked at Bonnie and Elena. "It's only been four months since I broke up with Tyler, and for almost three of them I've been busy with a brand new job. Let me have some time to myself before you start worrying about my lingerie collection gathering spider webs, okay?"

Bonnie and Elena seemed to realize that Caroline was serious after her outburst and promptly dropped the subject while she emptied her wine glass and quickly refilled it. She had a feeling that she was going to be draining the bottle pretty soon.

/

"You know, Bekah, if you plan on fitting into that wedding gown you keep going on about, you should probably lay off the desert," Kol quipped as he himself popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth and smiled at the blonde Mikaelson.

"If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth," Rebekah practically growled from her spot across the table from him.

Elijah saw the daggers that his sister was sending at their youngest brother. "Behave yourselves, you two; I don't believe Niklaus would appreciate bloodshed in his house."

"I would be more worried about Caroline's wrath than mine if they make a mess. She is the one who ensured that the dining room was prepared for our get together today," Klaus stated from his spot at the head of the table. Finn might have been the oldest, but the family respected the fact that they were in his house and therefore he sat at the head of the table of adults, with the kids at the kitchen table. Both tables were covered in dark Fall colored table cloths with pumpkin centerpieces that Caroline had thought made the rooms look festive.

"And where is the enchanting Caroline today?" Kol asked. "I thought I might have the pleasure of her company today."

"Despite what you may believe, I do let the woman off of work on occasion. She is enjoying the holiday with her friends instead of being badgered by you," Klaus answered as he took a large drink from his wine glass. He knew that Kol was just trying to push his buttons, so he ignored him rather than give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was getting to him.

"While I would not want to subject her to Kol, it is a pity that we missed an opportunity to speak with her. It was a surprise but a pleasure to finally meet her at the meet after hearing so many good things about her from Katherine," Elijah stated as he picked up his wife's hand and kissed it before continuing. "And I know that Alexandria was delighted to have her there."

"I think Caroline was more nervous than Lexi was," Klaus said with a smile as he thought back to his daughter's first gymnastics meet. He had set his alarm so he could get the kids up early but found that Lexi was already up and with Caroline when he woke, the nanny plaiting her hair into some kind of complicated braid. She had later told him that Lexi had confessed to her that she was worried that her ponytail might not hold back her hair enough to not get in her face so Caroline had offered to braid it for her. The two of them had been a bundle of nerves the whole day.

"You don't say? I couldn't tell by the way she was pacing while Lexi was waiting on deck. And I think my ears are still ringing from her and Bekah shouting and applauding," Stefan commented before he received an elbow to his stomach courtesy of his fiancé. "But seriously, I wasn't all that surprised that Caroline was there."

"Why do you say that mate?" Klaus asked.

Stefan shrugged. "It's just very Caroline."

Klaus nodded in understanding. "I agree."

"Okay for those of us who don't know Caroline as well as the two of you seem to, what are you talking about?" Sage asked.

"Caroline is very devoted to those that she cares about and, although she is paid to be their nanny, she cares for the twins. Lexi asked her to be there, so Caroline would do anything she could not to disappoint her," Stefan explained. "It's just the way she is."

"A quality that is very valuable in someone involved with children," Elijah remarked.

"Yes, if I was one to be a traditionalist and say what I am thankful for on this holiday, it would be that I am thankful to have found someone like her," Klaus declared before adding, "For the children's care, of course."

Everyone nodded in understanding but as the conversation moved onto other topics, Rebekah shared a knowing but concerned look with Katherine.

**So what did you guys think?**

**Sorry if Klaus sounded a little cheesy at the end. **

**In regard****s to Kol's remark to Rebekah, yes there are actually men out there that would be that stupid to say something like that to a woman. My husband said something like it to a friend of ours before her wedding. I was impressed that she let him live. **

**NEW STORY IDEA: **

Klaus is living the life he's wanted for as long as he could remember; he and his brothers are members of the Motorcycle gang his father and Stepfather created, and he is set to take over as leader when Mikael steps down. He has plenty of money, women in his bed and his bike. So why should he care that the girl he loved in high school who abandoned him is back in town?

For those of you familiar with Sons of Anarchy, yes this would be a lot like Jax and Tara but with my own spin on it and all of the TVD characters in it.


	13. Part 12 Ice Skating

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**:** Well it's Sunday and like I promised, here is an update which includes both Klaroline and Twioline (Twins/Caroline). **

**It's like there is definitely some interest in my new story. I'm happy to hear that though I don't know when I'll post it because I haven't even started writing it yet. I will let you guys know of the progress as it comes. I haven't gotten much writing done the last few days and probably won't with all of the stuff I have to get done. **

**I wanted to say again thank you to all of my readers. Your response to this story has been beyond fabulous and if I could I would just hug and squeeze you all. And give you cookies. **

**To sweettiku who asked for fic recommendations, check out my tab on my profile listed as Favorites and you'll find all of my favorite stories. **

**I will be updating next Sunday as well so see you then. And I hope everyone has a wonderful safe holiday.**

Part 12

Caroline was sleeping quite peacefully, having a wonderfully pleasant dream when she was suddenly yanked out of slumber by the feeling of two little bodies jumping onto her bed. "Caroline! It's snowing! It's snowing!"

She cracked open her eyes and saw the twins' excited faces. "Guys, it's been snowing all week."

"I know, but Daddy just said he'd take us ice skating today," Henry replied enthusiastically. "We are going to Frog Pond."

"Come with us, Caroline, please! It will be so much fun," Lexi begged as she bounced a little on Caroline's bed. She couldn't help but smile at the excitement in the kids' eyes as they looked at her pleadingly. But before she could answer, another voice joined in.

"Hey, you two, I thought I told you to let Caroline sleep," Klaus chastised from her doorway. Caroline started to tell him that it was okay, but could tell by the look on his face that it was better not to. She couldn't undermine his authority every time one or both of the kids got into trouble. She watched as their excitement dampened slightly as they looked at their father sheepishly.

"Do we still get to go?" Henry asked quietly.

"For the moment, but we have a few hours until we go and that can change," Klaus stated, making sure that they understood that he was being serious about listening to him. They had a tendency to sometimes think that Caroline was a playmate or friend instead of their nanny who had a right to not be bombarded by them when she was off. "Now both of you go and clean up from breakfast."

"But…" Lexi argued, her eyebrows scrunching

"Lexi, that wasn't a request." Klaus stated. He heard a snicker come from his son as he said it, finding his sister's reprimand humorous. Little did he know…

"But it's Henry's turn!" Lexi protested, bouncing a little on the bed as she vented her frustration at her dad's order. It was so unfair that she was being forced to clean up when it was Henry's job.

"And he'll help you next time," Klaus announced, eliciting a huff from his son before he continued. "Maybe then you two will listen to me when I tell you not to do something."

Both of the twins left the room to do as they were told, but not with mumbling their dislike quite vocally as they did. Once they were out of earshot, Caroline couldn't help but giggle a little at them. "Sometimes I forget that they have quite the temper."

"Yeah, well, they were doomed from the start; they get their temper and stubbornness from both sides," Klaus commented as he shook his head at them.

"It's really no big deal that they came in and woke me up, I probably should be getting up anyways; it's after nine," Caroline said as she rose and scooted back so that she was leaning against her pillows.

From his spot at her door, Klaus watched as she brought her arms above her head and stretched. The small t-shirt she wore was modest, but snug over her curves. As she moved, it lifted a little to show the skin of her stomach that could be seen above her blankets. The small flash of skin held his attention until she lowered her arms and it disappeared. He quickly glanced back up and saw that she had thankfully not noticed his staring. "We will be leaving after lunch if you want to go, but don't feel as if you have to."

"It sounds like fun; I happen to love winter activities," Caroline replied as she pushed back her blankets and swung her legs around to get out of bed. She was glad she had decided to keep her pajama pants on last night when she had gone to bed so she didn't have to worry about modesty at the moment. After all, she hadn't expected to have him appearing at her bedroom door that morning.

"You seem to like every season," Klaus commented with a smirk as he thought about how much she had dived into all of the Fall festivities with Halloween and Thanksgiving. He had teased her a little about shaming Martha Stewart with all of the crafts and activities she had done with the twins.

"There's just something about the differences in the various seasons that I just find beautiful," Caroline shrugged. "MysticFalls was big into celebrations for pretty much anything, but I always loved the seasonal ones like the Winter Wonderland party the most."

"Katherine is usually the one to take them ice skating, but she can't this year."

"I'm assuming that Elijah had something to say about that," Caroline said as she moved to her closet to pull out her clothes. She knew that, with the difficulties Katherine had been having with her first and current pregnancy, her husband had been more than just over protective, almost to the point that he would put Katherine on bed rest if he thought she would listen to him.

"How did you guess?" Klaus teased before he realized what she was gathering. "I'll leave you to get ready."

A few hours later, the four of them arrived at Frog Pond in the Commons for ice-skating. The air was frigid and the snow was a couple inches thick everywhere but the sun shone brightly making the day tolerable though Caroline was glad she had worn her heavy pea coat and light blue scarf.

The Pond was busy and they quickly moved over to the skate rental area however Caroline was surprised when Klaus only requested skates for the twins. "Are you not skating?"

"No."

"Well why not?"

Klaus simply shrugged. "I am just going to watch; you and the kids can skate."

"That's boring. You need to come out there with us, doesn't he guys?" Caroline asked Henry and Lexi, trying to get them to join in. They both started pulling on their father's arms as they begged. Klaus could only take it for a few minutes before she could see him giving in. She took the argument out of his hands as she turned around and requested a pair of skates for him, guessing on the size. He reluctantly took them from her proffered hand before they headed to a bench along the edge of the ice to put them on.

Caroline put on her skates before she reached over to help Lexi with hers. Once they were done, she looked over to see that Klaus had done the same thing with Henry and saw that her boss was not entirely sturdy on his skates. "You have done this before right?"

"It's been a long time."

"Like how long?"

"Fifteen years? Probably more. I know I was in my early teens," Klaus answered.

Caroline's eyes widened in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me that instead of letting me goad you into coming out here?"

Klaus frowned at her. "I told you that Katherine is the one who brings them."

"Yeah, I know but I just thought that meant that she's the one who gets everyone together to go. I figured you went too and skated," she explained. She felt bad now for her part in forcing him to get out on the ice with them.

"It's fine," Klaus replied. Thankfully, he seemed to find his skating legs after a few wobbly minutes or so he thought.

When she saw Klaus's feet slide out from under him, Caroline couldn't help a snicker of laughter escape her before they went to help him up. "Are you hurt?"

"Only my pride," Klaus answered as he started laugh. He looked up at her and saw her beginning to laugh as well. He was struck by how it lit up her face; her blue eyes seemed to dance with mirth and her golden blonde curls that she for once had left free bounced slightly as her whole body was taken over by her laughter. It was exquisite.

Caroline was finally able to control her laughter enough that she felt it was safe to offer to help him without ending up on the ice as well. She offered her hand to him, which he grasped and allowed her to help him up. As he got to his feet, she realized that their momentum had caused him to be standing very close to her. Their frosty breathes mingled between them as they both stared at the other for a moment before she came back to her senses and backed up a little.

Klaus turned away from her gaze and back to his children who anxiously waiting. "How about we try that again without your Dad falling on his rear, huh?"

Over the next several hours, they must have lapped the Pond a billion times on their skates. Back and forth, up and down, sometimes the twins held hands with the adults while other times they got adventurous and went out on their own. Eventually a break was needed but, even as they had been taking a rest on the sides, they hadn't stopped having fun. They had played in the snow and a small snowball fight had broken out between the four of them.

Caroline couldn't remember the last time she had smiled and laughed so much for so long. She was pretty sure that the soreness she was feeling in her cheeks was from the laughter and not raw from the cold and snow. She didn't care; she was having too much fun. At least, until she saw Henry take a snowball from Lexi to the side of his head, and he stumbled. He didn't get up right away, so she knew he was hurt. She moved to check on him; however his father got to him first. "Is he okay?"

"I'm so sorry, Henry! I didn't mean to hit you in the head," Lexi fretted next to her brother before he pushed her away.

Klaus looked over his son, brushing off the snow of him. He couldn't see anything wrong other than his ear being red from where the snowball had struck him. He looked to be fine but as he stared into his tear-filled eyes, Klaus knew that his son was trying to be act as if it didn't hurt him. "Yeah, he's fine. Nothing some hot chocolate won't fix, right, buddy?"

Henry only nodded slightly in agreement before Klaus looked at Caroline. "Why don't you and Lexi go get some? I'll take Henry over to clean him up."

Caroline was about to protest as she saw tears in Henry's eyes and the redness where the snowball had hit him, but stopped when she saw the look that Klaus was giving her. There was some strange male manly…thing going on and she took the hint. "Lexi, why don't we go get everyone some hot chocolate while they get cleaned up?"

Lexi didn't look particularly happy about leaving her twin, but when he pushed her away again as she tried to help brush off snow, she gave in. "Fine, but he's being a jerk and doesn't deserve hot chocolate."

She stomped away then, heading towards the concession building. Caroline rolled her eyes at the tiny blonde whirlwind before following after her. The line was quite long so they got in to wait their turn and Caroline took the opportunity to talk to Lexi. "You know Henry wasn't trying to be mean. He was just mad from getting hurt and didn't like feeling like we were babying him."

"Boys are ridiculous."

"Yes, yes they are. And it doesn't get any better when they get older either sweetie," Caroline told her. "That's why girls have to be the smart ones and not get mad back at them when they are acting like that.

Lexi smiled brightly before she wrapped her arms around the older blonde and gave her a big hug. Caroline hugged her back, glad that she could smooth things over before the guys got back. It was then that she heard someone call her name, but not who she had been expecting.

"Care?" She heard someone yell her name.

She turned around and saw a familiar face. "Tyler?"

**Well what did you think? **

**See you in a week! **


	14. Part 13 Misunderstandings and Idiot Exes

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well I would say that I hoped this surprised everyone but I guess me updating spontaneously on Wednesday isn't really spontaneous anymore is it? For anyone who follows me on Tumblr (livingdeadblondegirl) you will know that I am snowed in today. I would like to say I've been curled up on my couch doing nothing but writing but that would be lying. But I did get almost all of my Christmas decorations put away (Will be by the time I go to bed), cleaned bathrooms, and helped my youngest get rid of a bunch of toys. So at least I've been productive. I hope to write now after I post this but we'll see. **

**Hope everyone had a good holiday. **

**Glad that everyone liked the last part. I forgot to put in the last note that this whole 'section' with the ice skating and the scenes after was one of the first scenes I thought of when I was planning the story. Don't know if anyone cared to know that but I thought I would share. Hope this next part doesn't disappoint.**

**One more thing, I want to thank all of you guys again for your reviews and the love you have shown for this story. It blows my mind whenever I get a new review, I honestly didn't think I would have this kind of response.**

Part 13

As soon as they got into the public restrooms, Klaus grabbed a handful of paper towels to dry Henry off. "Take off your coat for a minute, Henry; let's make sure your clothes are dry and no snow got into them. We don't need you getting sick from walking around in the cold with wet clothes."

Henry did as he was told, stripping off his outer layers so that his father could check him over. Klaus was pleased to see that most of the snow had stayed around Henry's neck so aside from his collar and a little bit of his curls, he was dry and most of the redness around where the snowball had hit him was gone. Another ten minutes and they wouldn't even know he'd been hit.

"Dad, is Caroline going to leave us?" Henry asked out of the blue.

"Why would you ask that?" Klaus asked as he looked at his son in surprise. Kids had a habit of saying odd things unexpectedly, but that question was at the top of the list.

Henry shrugged. "Just asking."

"You don't just ask something like that," Klaus stated. "Is it because Ayanna had to leave?"

Henry shrugged again. "Kind of."

"Well, I know Caroline hasn't said anything."

His son shook his head. "No, she didn't. But adults don't always mean what they say."

"What do you mean?"

"Ms. Jules left last year. She said at the beginning of the school year that she would be there all year, but then she left after Spring Break."

"Well, Ms. Jules got married and then her new husband had to move because of his job. She didn't know that was going to happen." Klaus replied when he realized that Henry was talking about the teaching assistant that he and Lexi had during first grade. He briefly wondered if the twins might be starting to have abandonment issues now that they were getting a little older. He didn't want them to feel that way but considering the way that some of the women in their life disappeared, he couldn't blame them.

"Well, what if Caroline gets married? Is she going to leave then?" Henry asked.

Klaus wasn't sure how to answer the boy's question. How do you tell a seven year old boy that someday yes, Caroline might get married and leave, but that he had no idea if or when it would happen? Kids didn't understand the concept of time when measured in large numbers. "I'm going to be honest here, Henry: I have no idea if Caroline might get married, but I can tell you that right now she's sticking around and as far as I know has no plans to leave."

"Good, because I really like her living with us and I don't want her to leave. It's almost like having a mom around," Henry replied as he pulled his coat back on and zipped it up. As soon as he did, he grabbed his father's hand and pulled a dumbfounded Klaus back outside.

/

"Tyler?" Caroline said in disbelief as she stared into the face of her ex-boyfriend as he hurried up to her.

"I thought that was you," Tyler said in greeting as he smiled. However, his face changed to confusion when he turned his gaze away from her face and down towards her waist.

Remembering the little girl she currently had wrapped around her middle, Caroline looked down to meet her questioning eyes. She smiled at the little girl reassuringly before releasing the hug, taking one of her hands instead. "This is Lexi, Lexi this is a…friend of mine. Tyler."

"Hi," Lexi said in greeting though she didn't seem to be very enthusiastic about it, especially with the way the man was staring at her as if he had never seen a kid before.

"Um, Care. Where did the mini-me come from? She's not…yours is she?" Tyler asked, sounding half-serious half-joking.

Caroline took a minute to look over Lexi; she guessed she could see what Tyler was talking about. The little girl had fair skin, blue eyes and light blonde hair like her own. Of course, the hair was partially hidden since it had been pulled back in two braids that hung out of her hat, but did he really think that Lexi was hers? "You actually think that if she was mine you might not have known about her before now?"

Tyler shrugged his shoulders. "You never know…sometimes people hide the fact that they have kids from those they are dating."

"I wouldn't have," Caroline retorted as she started to get angry with the man in front of her. Did he really think if she had had a daughter, she would have kept her a secret? "Especially not for as long as we were together. That would have been a bit difficult, don't you think?"

By the look on his face, Tyler could tell he had upset her, and he put up his hand as if to ward off an attack. "Hey, I'm sorry."

"Is there a problem here, love?" Caroline heard a familiar accented voice question from next to her. She looked over and saw that Klaus and Henry had returned without her realizing it. Could her day get any worse?

"No, no problem," she assured him.

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked, looking over Caroline's face for confirmation of her answer. He could tell when they had approached that the man in front of her hadn't been a random stranger, but he could also tell that she wasn't entirely comfortable at the moment. Which considering that the man had been apologizing when he had walked up, he didn't blame her for. However, despite her assurances, he positioned himself between Caroline, the kids and the stranger, just in case things got a bit more heated.

"She said there wasn't a problem, didn't she?" Tyler snapped back at the new guy; not liking him a bit.

"That she did mate," Klaus replied, cocking an eyebrow at him. "But perhaps I don't care for the way you are acting around her and my daughter."

"We were just talking…"

"Tyler, shut up," Caroline retorted before she turned to Klaus. "Everything's fine. Just a misunderstanding."

She was relieved when Klaus nodded and seemed to accept her answer though she did catch him throwing a smirk in Tyler's direction. She needed to break up this little run in but not in front of the twins. "Well since you are back, can you take over waiting in this line? I'm going to talk to Tyler for a minute. I'll be right back."

Caroline took her opening and pulled Tyler away from him and the kids. Once they were out of earshot, she snapped, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Did you have to be so rude? He was just checking on me," Caroline explained. "After all, if your situations were reversed and you walked up to some strange guy talking to me and your daughter, wouldn't you be a little bit protective?"

"So let me get this straight, not only do you spend your whole day with kids, but now you are dating a guy with his own?" Tyler asked angrily.

Caroline could feel her eyes bug out as her mouth dropped open in surprise. She knew that she must have looked comical, but she couldn't stop her reaction if she tried. Did Tyler really think she was dating Klaus? Seriously? "That's my boss, Tyler, not my boyfriend!"

"Your boss?" Tyler asked as he looked back over at the guy they had just left. "But what about…"

"I was out of a job when we broke up remember? Well I got a new one, which means, new boss," Caroline explained.

"I'm confused. Why are you here with your boss and his kids? Isn't part of your job to take care of the kids when the parents can't?" Tyler inquired.

"Not that I owe you an explanation but yes, normally, but I'm not working. The kids asked me to come skating so I said yes," Caroline defended.

"I bet their mom must love you hanging out with her husband and kids," Tyler said snidely. When he saw the look on her face, something clicked in his head. "Unless there isn't a mom."

"No, there isn't," the blonde answered.

"Caroline, you aren't…." Tyler started to ask before she cut him off.

"Why are we even still talking about this?" Caroline asked trying to change the subject. "Or talking at all? We aren't together anymore. You came over I assume to be nice and say hi, which has turned into something that went south very quickly, so I'm just going to say bye and see you whenever, Tyler."

Before he could stop her again, Caroline spun on her heel and headed back to the concession stand. By this time, the others had finally gotten the hot chocolate and had moved away from the stand. However, as she approached she noticed that Klaus's eyes were fixed on her and she had a feeling they probably had been during her whole conversation with Tyler.

As she reached them, Klaus reached out and handed her a steamy cup. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Klaus replied. He glanced over at the retreating back of Tyler before asking. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is fine. Just ex drama. I'm sorry about that; I didn't think I'd run into him here," Caroline apologized.

"No need to apologize," he countered before he looked down at the twins. "It's going to be getting dark soon; why don't we finish these up then we'll go back out on the ice for a little while before we head home?"

Caroline nodded in agreement, as she sipped her hot chocolate; she was very ready to head home.

**Well I didn't disappoint anyone by not having Klaus being super jealous did I? I decided to have Tyler being an ass vs. Klaus being jealous. And you'll see in the next part that bringing Tyler in briefly will do good things for the two of them. **

**Also, to the guest who reviewed on the last part about how they liked that Caroline was smart and competent, I'm very happy that you liked that. When I was thinking up the story, that was one of the first things I thought of. I wanted her to be a very smart well educated independent person. Glad to see others like that too.**

**Thanks again to CeCeVolume for being such a wonderful beta. **


	15. Part 14 Fireside Confessions

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Happy Sunday to everyone! It is update day. **

**Well I can see that Tyler was not welcomed, don't worry I don't plan on him bringing him back. You'll see why in this next part. **

**Glad that everyone seemed to like the last part, the kids seem to have their own fans. That makes me feel good about my ability as a writer because I know a lot of readers don't like reading stories with kids in them. When I first thought of this story, I thought of having Caroline coming in while they were still babies but decided to make them older so that they could be more interactive and full characters in the story and I'm happy that I did. They are fun to write.**

**Anyways, on with the story.**

Part 14

A few hours later, the four of them were in the living room in front of the fireplace while the credits of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' rolled on the nearby TV screen. They had spent another hour on the pond skating before calling it a day and heading for home. Klaus had been too tired to think about dealing with dinner and, after rejecting Caroline's offer to cook since he knew she was as tired as he was, they had grabbed pizza to bring home. After dinner, they had went into the living room to watch Christmas cartoons, the kids piled on blankets on the floor while each of the adults had taken seats on opposite couches.

Caroline looked over and saw that neither of the kids had lasted to the end of the movie. Lexi was curled up in a ball, buried in a quilt with only her face showing. Henry was laying on his stomach, using a stuffed penguin as a pillow, his curls in disarray around his face. She smiled at Klaus when she saw he had noticed it as well. "It looks like the day wore them out."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Lexi conked out before the Grinch went to Whoville while Henry hung on until almost the end," Klaus stated. He had been keeping an eye on them since they had turned on the show; their eyes had been drooping since they had gotten home but had refused to admit how tired they were. It was why he had suggested watching one of their favorite Christmas cartoons; he knew they wouldn't make it long.

"They had a busy day, first all of the excitement and then all of the time outside. The fresh air and exercise."

"I'm not sure I'm going to be able walk tomorrow," Klaus joked. He did what he had time for to stay in shape, but the skating had some of his muscles aching in ways he wasn't used to.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Caroline apologized again. "For the run in with Tyler."

"No apologies necessary. Like you said earlier, you didn't know he would be there."

Caroline shook her head. "No, I didn't. I mean, I run the risk of running into him anywhere in the city, considering he lives here and has all of his life, but it's been months since I've seen him, since after the break up, I mean."

"I have to say sweetheart after meeting the bloke, I can't imagine you dating him," Klaus declared as he reached over and turned off the TV. The room was bathed in light from the Christmas tree and fireplace so he didn't worry about turning on the lamps.

Caroline couldn't help but snicker a little at his words. "Yeah, well, he was in rare form today. He was just being an idiot who didn't think before he spoke. Then turned into an ass when you and Henry came back and things just went bad after that."

"He was a bit of a prick."

"He wasn't like that when we were dating," Caroline stated before mumbling. "At least not in the beginning."

"If you don't mind my asking, why did you two split up?" Klaus asked, genuinely interested. He hadn't been impressed with this Tyler fellow earlier in the few minutes he was around him and couldn't see Caroline dating him.

"No, I don't mind. It's not as if it is a big secret. Things just didn't work out. He didn't appreciate how erratic my schedule is nor how time consuming my job can be," Caroline explained. "In the beginning, I think he liked it. I wasn't always hanging around and being a needy girlfriend, but as time went on…"

"He wanted more and more of your time," Klaus finished.

"Exactly. And when the Fells told me about their transfer, he pushed me to get a more eight to five job, like with another family who only needed me during the day or a teaching job, not that I could get him to understand that teaching isn't always an eight hour job…" the blonde recounted.

"You would be an excellent teacher."

"Thank you. Maybe someday when being a nanny doesn't work with my life anymore," Caroline replied with a smile. "Anyways, we started to argue a lot and eventually I was just done with it."

"So you broke it off…"

"My mom thought I was just being stubborn, but it wasn't that. I cared about Tyler, a part of me loved him but, towards the end, I realized that I didn't care enough to fight for our relationship. I knew there wasn't a future for us, we wanted different things," Caroline admitted before she realized what she had said. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to unload all of that on you.

"It's not a problem sweetheart. I asked after all," Klaus reminded her. "I have to say that I'm glad you chose to stay employed as a nanny; we'd be lost without you."

"Oh, you would have found someone just as qualified," she said, brushing off his words.

"Maybe as qualified, but it would not have been the same. I don't think you realize how much we enjoy you being here," Klaus retorted as he sat up, leaned forward and looked at her intently. "Henry actually asked me today if you were going to leave us."

"Why would he ask that?"

"Because he likes having you around and is worried that you might someday leave, he asked if you were going to get married and leave like one of his teachers did last year." Klaus answered, he decided not to mention Henry's comment about having Caroline around was like having a mom around. He didn't know how she might react to it. He hadn't had a chance to think on it himself though now that he did it made sense. The twins had never had a full time mother type figure in their lives, Ayanna was more grandmotherly and their aunts were part time.

Caroline looked away from him as she took in his words and gazed over at the sleeping boy. "What did you tell him?"

"I tried to be as honest with him as I could; I told him that I didn't know if you were going to get married and leave one day or not, but for now you planned on staying for awhile," he answered. "I thought that if I said yes but if you did, it might not be for a year or several years, he'd worry. I didn't want to worry him without even knowing if you ever planned on getting married."

"No, you answered it perfectly," Caroline admitted. "It's not something he should worry about now, since it's not even something that's in the realm of possibility at the moment."

"Well that's good to know," Klaus teased. "I'd hate to have to find someone to fill your spot."

"Don't get me wrong: I would like to get married someday, have a family…I would love to be able to have kids, but not until I find the right guy. Someone that could accept me and all of my… flaws," she confessed honestly, before she smiled. "God, I sound like a sappy mess."

"No, you don't," Klaus assured her.

"What about you?" Caroline asked trying to turn the attention away from her and her confession. She knew that she should feel embarrassed about their conversation, and a part of her did but a bigger part of her didn't. Klaus was her boss but over the last few months, they had become what she thought of as friends. Moreover, he had started the whole conversation when he asked about Tyler and then told her about what Henry had said. "Do you think you'll ever get married again?"

"I have no idea. Like you, I'm in no position to really think about it. Despite my divorce, I am not turned off at the idea of marriage. I've seen how happy my brothers are with their wives," Klaus said. He watched as Caroline nodded at his answer while biting her lip. He could tell that she was holding something back. "If you want to ask something, go ahead."

"It's about your ex-wife and the circumstances of her leaving," Caroline replied. "Forget it, I shouldn't have asked."

Klaus stared at her for minute as he thought over what she said. It wasn't a subject that he liked to discuss but he could understand that she was curious. He looked at her and nodded towards the twins. "I need to put them in bed. Then we can continue this discussion."

Caroline watched as he got up and walked over to Henry. Instead of shaking him or picking him up, Klaus got down on the floor next to him so that they were almost face-to-face. She could hear him saying something to his son though she couldn't make out the words. A minute later, Henry got up only to crawl on top of his father's back, his arms draped around his neck and his legs wrapped around his waist. With the little boy on his back, Klaus stood up and headed out of the living room.

She couldn't help but smile at the sweetness of the two of them. Instead of waiting for him to return, Caroline roused Lexi enough to get her up and into her arms to take her upstairs as well. She helped the little girl into some pajamas and into bed, earning a hug before she was asleep again.

When she made her way back downstairs and into the living room, she saw Klaus unlocking a cabinet and removing a decanter filled with an amber liquid. He filled the two glasses in front of them half full before setting the bottle down and bringing them over to her.

"What is it?" Caroline asked. She wasn't sure if she should be drinking with her boss but, at the moment, it didn't look like she had much of a choice.

"Scotch. I think we need something a little stronger hot chocolate for this conversation," Klaus answered as he returned to his spot on the nearby couch. "Thank you for putting Lexi to bed. I didn't want them to wake up while we were talking and overhear something."

Klaus watched as Caroline nodded in understanding before she took a seat the opposite end of the couch as him. He took a sip of the liquid and once it had burned its way down his throat, he asked, "What did you want to know?"

"Um… Katherine mentioned that your ex-wife left when the twins were still in diapers. How old exactly we they?"

"They were around eleven months old; they had just taken their first steps."

Caroline had known they were babies but hearing again how young they were hit her hard. Your children taking their first steps was supposed to be a proud day in a mother's life, not a time when you leave them. "Do you know why she left?"

"I'm sure that if I spoken to her before she left, Tatia would have had several reasons for her dissertation," Klaus replied. "But I think the prevalent one was the fact that I asked her for a divorce a couple of days before."

"Why?" Caroline asked as she took a sip of the scotch in her glass.

"Because I caught her in bed with my brother."

**Yep, I'm leaving you with that cliffhanger because I'm evil. And yes, I'm going to have to make you wait a week for the next update. I have been struggling with writing lately so my parts are diminishing, and I am about to start writing their trip to Barbados which I have a feeling it will be hard. **

**I'd love to hear feedback on what you thought of this part! **

**So no update until next Sunday, see you next year!**


	16. Part 15 Fireside Confessions part 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you who don't follow me on Tumblr, on Thursday I posted a message asking people if they'd rather I posted on Friday or Sunday and the votes were equal so I decided to post in the middle.**

**The response I got over the last part and its cliffhanger were amazing. I love reading everyone's theories. All of my readers have been amazing whether they leave a review, follow or just favorite, I thank you all. **

**As of right now, I will not post again until next Sunday. I've had a week from hell and have not written hardly anything, which is very rare for me so I'm severely lacking in parts. I'll try to remedy that soon though. **

Part 15

"Because I caught her in bed with my brother." Klaus declared before taking another drink from his tumbler.

As she started to choke on the Scotch, Caroline was very glad she hadn't taken a larger drink. She hadn't been expecting the answer he had given her. The Mikaelson men all seemed so close that she couldn't imagine one of them sleeping with their brother's wife. Hell, two of them had wives of their own, which left only one possibility in Caroline's mind. "Kol?"

"No, it was Elijah," Klaus answered, not bothering to ask why she had thought that it had been Kol who he had caught with Tatia.

"Elijah cheated on Katherine?" Caroline asked not believing what he said for two reasons. One, because the idea of Elijah cheating on his wife or betraying his brother like that didn't mesh with the gentleman she had met at Lexi's meet. And two, she was pretty sure Katherine would have done serious physical harm to him that would have made Daniel and her current pregnancy impossible.

"Sorry, I'm not telling this right. I've never talked to anyone about it so my story telling skills are a bit rusty," Klaus clarified. He knew if he were going to tell her his history with his ex-wife, it would be best to start at the beginning otherwise things would get even more confusing than they already were. It had been a long time since he had dredged up these memories; he tried to keep them buried. If he didn't, they would drive him insane.

"I met Tatia when Elijah and I were still at University. Unbeknownst to me, she had also met Elijah at the time and we both began to pursuing her. Once we did find out about each, we told her she would have to choose. She said she couldn't because she cared about both of us. We were in the middle of forcing her to make the decision when Elijah's attentions were directed elsewhere. Katherine came to school to visit her twin and she and Elijah hit it off. Tatia chose me, which according to her she'd been planning to do and things went from there. By the time I got my degree, we had been involved for a few years and I did what I thought was the next logical step and convinced her that we should get married."

"Convinced?"

"I had to talk her into it. She said that she loved me but was hesitant because she didn't think we wanted the same things," Klaus clarified. "She didn't want to have children and she knew that I did. Growing up in a big family, she knew I wanted to have one as well."

"I thought it was something that she would change her mind about after a few years. Her and Katherine's parents died in a car accident when they were sixteen, so it was just the two of them after. I thought she would want to fill the void left by their death with a family. I told her it was fine that she didn't want kids. She ended up saying yes and we got married, couple years later she was pregnant."

"I'm guessing that she still hadn't changed her mind?" Caroline asked when he paused in his tale to take another gulp of his drink.

He shook his head in reply. "No. She was still adamant about her choice while my desire had grown; substantially so."

"Tatia wasn't completely indifferent to being pregnant. She didn't want to have children, but she never said a word about not having them and she took care of herself. The women in her family have difficult pregnancies—you've seen that with Katherine—but Tatia did everything she was supposed to. I took it as a sign that she had warmed up to the idea by the time they were born," Klaus explained. "But I was wrong."

"Not long after Henry and Lexi were born, I realized that the connection between Tatia and I had started to deteriorate even more than I had thought. I was busy trying to help with the business but also be at home to help her with the babies, most of the time I fell asleep on the bed in the nursery and she felt neglected. We started fighting constantly."

"Katherine and Elijah knew the issues we were having, and tried to help. They thought that maybe some time away from work would do us good but knew that the twins were too young for us to leave them. So they rented this house on AmityIsland and went with us. They helped with the babies and even watched them one night so we could go out for dinner on the beach. That night didn't go as planned and we ended up arguing," Klaus recounted as his mind drifted.

"Later that night, I was out on the beach with Katherine just talking after everyone had gone to bed. She was trying to calm me down while Tatia was inside. Evidently, during this time, she came to the decision that she had married the wrong brother. She went into Katherine and Elijah's room and crawled into bed with him. Katherine and I came back into the house, earlier it seemed than Tatia was expecting and caught them. They hadn't gotten very far but it was evident what was going on."

"I still can't believe that Elijah would do that."

"He didn't actually. He had been asleep when Tatia came in, and in his sleep induced daze, he thought she was Katherine. They are twins after all, identical and it isn't much of a stretch when you are half-asleep. She and I could tell he was telling the truth, but Tatia wasn't innocent." Klaus rose from the couch then and moved over by the fireplace. As he did, he began to pace. Recalling that time was bringing back a lot of the anger he had felt that night and he needed to release it in some way.

"I was furious—beyond furious. Back then, I didn't have much of a grip on my temper and I lashed out at her. I didn't strike her. No, we always used words to hurt each other," Klaus explained when he saw Caroline's eyebrows go up in question. "We were so loud that we woke the twins."

"Their cries brought me out of the rage I was in; I went in and settled them down. I chose to sleep on the floor that night; I couldn't stand the thought of sleeping in the same bed as her again. Not after her betrayal," Klaus justified. "We went home the next day. When we got there, I told her that I would never share a bed with her again. We would be legally divorced but we would live together and raise the kids. I didn't want them to live in separate houses. She left two days later."

"What did she say when she left?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing; I wasn't there when she left," Klaus answered. "I came home from work—we still lived in a small apartment while we looked for another place—and it was empty. At first, I thought she might have just taken the twins out, but there was no note or message from her. Then I noticed that some of her stuff was missing. I checked her closet and all of her clothes and some of the kids' stuff was gone."

"I panicked. I thought she had taken the kids and left," he said, trying not to choke as the fear he remembered from that day came back to him. "I called Katherine, but she hadn't heard from her sister. I was just about to call the police when Sage called me. She wanted to know what time I was picking up the babies."

"So she didn't take off with them?"

Klaus shook his head. "Tatia had called Sage earlier and asked if she could leave the twins with her for a little bit until I got off work. I don't remember anything from the time she told me that until I got to her and Finn's place and saw them with my own eyes."

"You had to have been terrified," Caroline remarked. She understood a little better now why Klaus was so protective of his kids. He had first-hand experience with the terror a parent felt when their child was missing or lost. In his case, he had thought that someone he had trusted had ran off with them, possibly just to hurt him.

"Terrified doesn't begin to describe how I felt." He confessed, his hands shaking just a bit as he did. He wrapped them tighter around the glass to stop the tremors as he continued. "I slept in the nursery the first couple of weeks, waking up every hour or so to make sure they were still there."

"And Tatia?" Caroline asked hesitantly.

"She left a note in their diaper bag. She said she couldn't handle being a mother or wife anymore and she was leaving me with the family I had wanted more than her."

"Katherine said you never looked for her?"

"No. I filed divorce and custody papers the next day, citing abandonment. It was granted six months later," Klaus answered before he sat back down. "I never looked for her because it was her choice to leave. If she didn't want to be around the twins, I wasn't going to force her to be. They have too many people around them that want to love them, why subject them to someone who doesn't? I know what that's like, and I won't do that to my children."

Caroline wanted to ask him what he meant by his last statement but let it go. He had confessed so much to her that she didn't want to press more.

"I don't know what to say." She felt like she should say something, but she had so many things running through her it was hard to wrap her head around any of them. She felt like reaching over and offering some comfort to him while at the same time the desire to call her mother and use her law enforcement connection to track down Tatia and wring her neck. She hated a woman she had never met.

"There's nothing to say. It's in the past," he said, a large sigh coming from his lips.

The two of them lapsed into silence after that, neither one of them felt the need to talk after so many words had already been spoken.

**Okay guys there it is, Klaus and Tatia's history, well a lot of it;). I know it was a little short but had a lot in it. What did you think? **

**Sorry if I went a little soap operay with the whole mistaking the twin of your wife for your wife and sleeping with her. Or almost. But I wanted to include the Elijah/Klaus/Tatia triangle from the show, even if we haven't learned much about it, so I came up with this. **

**And I'm not sure how this keeps happening but I keep mentioning things from Spielberg movies, first there was a line in part 5 from Jurassic Park and in this one I mention Amity Island which was from the Jaws Movies. Not sure why I keep doing that but there it is.**

**The next part will be more light hearted, and move forward in time to Christmas. Christmas will only be one part before they head out on vacation. **


	17. Part 16 Christmas Greetings

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I said I wasn't going to post until Sunday but my weekend is shaping up to be pretty busy so I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to spend on the computer so I wanted to make sure I got this posted. **

**I'm glad that everyone seemed to like how I handled the Klaus/Caroline/Elijah triangle. And I think pretty much everyone hates Tatia with a fiery passion. I wanted to make her totally hateable but not make her neglectful towards the kids because Klaus would never stand for that. Originally I was going to have her have died but decided to go this route because 1) I didn't want her to haunt the two of them when they get together 2) I thought it added something to Klaus's background and his character. **

**I have gone through and added titles to all of the parts. I'm not sure why I didn't before because in my head, they always had titles. **

**I want to thank everyone again for all of the awesome reviews! We hit over 400 after this last part and that just blows me away! I love each and every one of them! **

**And thanks to CeCeVolume for betaining this!**

Part 16 Christmas Greetings

_O holy night, The stars are brightly shining;_

At the sound of the familiar Christmas carol erupting from her phone, Caroline rushed over to grab it. She glanced at the screen for a minute, a smile blossoming on her face, before answering it. "Merry Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas, sweetheart" Klaus replied. "I've got two excited elves here who are dying to talk to you."

She couldn't keep the smile from growing bigger on her face as the voices of the twins drifted through the phone. She could hear them arguing over who was going to talk to her first. Thankfully, their father had a way around it. "I'm going to put you on video, if it's okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Caroline assured him. It was late morning so she had been up for awhile. Her mom actually had the day off so Caroline had gotten up and made them a big breakfast for just the two of them. Afterwards, she had taken a shower and did her hair before dressing in her cream-colored dress that she planned to wear to the Gilbert's.

A few seconds later, the screen on Caroline's phone was filled with the smiling faces of Henry and Lexi. "Hey, there are my sweeties. Merry Christmas, you two."

"Merry Christmas, Caroline," they replied simultaneously.

"So I can tell that the two of you are about ready to explode, so tell me what you guys got for Christmas," Caroline told them. "One at a time though, and go back and forth. Henry first, then Lexi."

Henry glanced smugly over at his sister before he took his turn. "Dad got me a bearded dragon!"

"A dragon?" Caroline asked.

"Well, it's not really a dragon, it's a lizard but it's called a dragon because it looks like one. I got a tank and everything to take care of it," Henry explained enthusiastically. He went on for a few minutes telling her everything about his new pet and the book that came with it to tell him how to take care of it. "I get to keep him in my room until we leave on vacation, then Dad is going to have someone dragon-sit him."

"That's a good thing; after all I doubt we could take him with us," Caroline stated. "Alright, Lexi, what about you?"

"I got tickets to go see the gymnastics team when they come to town. You know the ones that were on the Olympics?!" Lexi squealed excitedly. "And Daddy said it would be just me and him."

For the next ten minutes, the twins rattled on about the presents they had received and catching her up on what she had missed since she had left Boston three days before to fly to her hometown for the holidays. It was weird to not be there with them. Once they had exhausted the conversation, she told them good-bye and told them that she'd see them in a few days before they handed the phone back to their father.

"Sorry to intrude on your holiday but they started begging me to call you as soon as they got done unwrapping their presents," Klaus explained. "They…they've been missing you a lot this week."

"No, I'm glad you called. I've been missing them too. I thought of them first thing this morning when we were unwrapping presents and the way their eyes would be lighting up," Caroline declared. "But I hope you know I'm not cleaning that lizard's cage. That is so not in my job description."

Klaus let out a chuckle at her statement and the look on her face. "Don't worry about it; Henry will be taking care of him. With a little help from me when he needs it."

"Whew, glad to hear that we agree on that," Caroline joked.

"How is Mystic Falls?" Klaus asked.

"Nice, but after a few days, it's starting to feel a little small. I've gotten too used to living in a big city," Caroline confessed. "But I'm enjoying seeing my family. Mom got a tree, which we decorated. You know when you grow up; the cheesy homemade ornaments are really embarrassing. Especially when you are an only child and you know you were the one to make all of them."

Klaus smiled at her self-teasing. "Trust me, your parents think they are more valuable then any other ornament you could buy."

"Yeah, well Lexi and Henry's ornaments are actually cute," Caroline declared before changing to the subject back to what he had asked. "Anyways, I had dinner with my dad, Stephen and his daughter last night, and today my mom and I are going over to the Gilbert's along with Bonnie and her grandmother."

"I'm glad to hear it. I know you were looking forward to seeing all of them," Klaus stated, his eyes running over her image on his phone. The first thing he noticed was her long blonde hair was down, hanging in loose curls around her shoulders with one side clipped up. That coupled with her dress made her look angelic. "You look lovely."

Caroline looked down at her off white dress as she ran a hand through her hair at his words. "Thank you. It's a little dressed up for dinner at a friend's house."

Klaus shook his head. "Nonsense. You look very Christmasy."

She couldn't help the laughter pour out of her at what he said. After they had decorated his house for Christmas, she had announced that it looked very Christmasy, which Klaus had stated was not a word. She, of course, had argued that it was; it was her word. The argument had ended with the declaration that it was indeed a word, one of many Carolineisms as Klaus had named the language. "So, what have I missed in Boston?"

"Not a lot. More snow, but not enough to cancel the Christmas party a few nights ago," Klaus acknowledged. "Mindy told me to tell you hello and that you had better plan to attend next year."

Caroline rolled her eyes. The day after she left for MysticFalls, the Mikaelsons had hosted their annual Christmas party for all of their employees at Originals. She had been told by Mindy that it was a lavish but relaxed celebration that everyone looked forward to. However, though she was invited, Caroline hadn't been able to attend since she was going to be out of town.

She and Klaus spoke for a few more minutes before ending their conversation. Once she ended the call, Caroline turned to put the phone on the counter when she saw her mother standing nearby. "Hey, Mom. How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long, didn't want to interrupt your phone call," Liz Forbes stated as she studied her daughter. Her face was alight with what she thought could see was joy.

"Yeah, Klaus and the kids just called to wish me a Merry Christmas. And to tell me what they got for Christmas. Apparently they couldn't wait until I get back in a few days," Caroline said with a smile but saw something in her mother's eyes that made it waver a bit. "What?"

"Nothing," Liz replied. "Ready?"

"Yep, just let me grab the food," she answered, not quite believing her mom. Instead of saying anything though, she turned to gather up what they were taking over to the Gilbert's. Since her mom's skills were not known to reach into the kitchen, Caroline had done all of the cooking.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the Forbes pulled up out front of the Gilberts' house. Like everything else in MysticFalls, the house was exactly the way Caroline remembered from her childhood. She was still taking a trip down memory lane when the front door came out and Jeremy came out along with his father Grayson. "Do you guys need any help?"

"Well, I'm certainly not going to turn it down if you're offering," Caroline called back. The Gilbert men helped them into the house, which was full of people. In the living room was Alaric, Elena's uncle by marriage who was obviously waiting for the rest of the men to come back in. Caroline waved to him before heading into the kitchen where Elena's mother Miranda, her Aunt Jenna, Elena, Bonnie and one of Caroline's favorite people in the world, Bonnie's grandmother Sheila, were sitting. She had been the one to raise Bonnie after her mother split and her dad was too busy working. With both sets of her own grandparents dead, she had taken Caroline on as a surrogate granddaughter, as well.

"There's that smile that is brighter than the sun," Sheila greeted her before reaching for a hug. "How have you been Caroline?"

"I'm good, Ms. Sheila," she replied hugging her back.

"Well, I haven't heard from you much lately, just bits and pieces that I get from my Bonnie and the messages you send me."

"Sorry," Caroline said sheepishly. "I've been so busy lately with my new job. I don't think to call until it's late, that's why I've been sending the emails."

"I understand, but they aren't the same as a phone call," Sheila reminded her.

"I'll do better, I promise," Caroline assured her.

The rest of the day was spent celebrating the holiday and catching up with all of the family and friends who were present. Ms. Sheila and Jenna were interested in Caroline's new job, so she talked for a while about them as well as showed them pictures of the kids that she had on her phone. Jenna had, of course, made a few lustful comments when she saw Klaus in a couple of them, but Caroline had just rolled her eyes and kept going.

After a few hours, Caroline and Liz said their goodbyes before heading back to their house. She had noticed that her mom had seemed very quiet, not to mention giving her odd looks all day and she knew that there was something bothering her. She waited until they were in their house before she said anything. "Alright, Mom, you've been acting very detached today, more so than normal."

"You're exaggerating, Caroline. You've just been so busy visiting everyone," Liz replied.

"No, I'm not. Now, I don't want to start a fight on Christmas, but I don't exactly want the silent treatment during the last few days I'm here either," Caroline stated. "You weren't like this earlier, before I got the phone call from Klaus…"

Caroline saw her mother's jaw tense at her words. "So that's it. You have some kind of issue with my job. Is this still about Tyler and how I put my job before my relationship?"

For a few minutes, her mother said nothing. She wasn't sure if she was trying to decide whether to shoot down her argument or simply decide what to say until the other woman finally spoke. "No. I was wrong to tell you that before. If you had given up your job for your boyfriend, you would have had bigger issues down the road if you regretted it."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm worried about you, worried that you are getting too wrapped up in your new job. I mean, there's dedication and then there's over doing it," Liz explained.

"That's rich coming from you," Caroline retorted. "You've been married to your job since before you and Dad divorced. There were nights when I never saw you."

"I'm the Sheriff, I have responsibilities."

"And they came before me, something I learned a long time ago. But that makes you a bit of a hypocrite don't you think?" Caroline asked. "I love my job."

"I know you do, I'm just worried that you are becoming too involved. That conversation I overheard earlier wasn't a boss talking to an employee."

Caroline closed her eyes for a minute as she took her mother's words in. Why did everyone always question her on this stuff? She wished she could get them to understand that things weren't like that. "You're right. We aren't just employee and boss, I consider him a friend. And I'll admit, I am pretty attached to the kids but that isn't a bad thing. They are great kids."

"I don't doubt that they are, sweetie. But you have a weakness for kids so much so that you love them with your whole heart. I just don't want you to get hurt if you lose them like you did the other families you have worked for," Liz clarified. "As for your friendship with your boss, I'm happy that you have found someone who appreciates you for who you are and that you are friends. But just make sure you remember that he is still your boss."

Caroline felt the anger that had been building up towards her mother deflate at her words. She wasn't trying to be critical or judgmental; she was just looking out for her. She might not have always been there when she needed her but she knew her mother wanted what was best for her.

**Well what did you think? I wanted to show a little bit of Mystic Falls and Caroline's life. And yes, I put the Christmas carol that played in the background while Klaus killed his hybrids as Caroline's ringtone. I have no shame. **

******This week has been better for my writing than the previous ones so we might have more frequent updates coming. I set up poll though so that you guys can vote when I will update if it continues to be once a week since I've moved the day of the week around so much.**

**Next part is Barbados! I'm still working on all of what I'm going to include but here is a taste.**

**A Mikaelson Family Dinner**

**A day at the beach (Shirtless Mikaelson men! I have been looking for shirtless pictures so to do my descriptions justice, the things I do for you guys;) **

**Jealousy ;)**

**Girl Time**

**New Year's Eve **


	18. Part 17 Welcome to Barbados

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well it seems like everyone enjoyed the last part though it was a bit of a filler. Since I covered two other holidays in this fic I couldn't ignore Christmas even if Caroline was in Mystic Falls. The kids (And Klaus) missed her and she missed them so it just seemed natural that they would talk on Christmas. **

**And yes, everyone seems to be on Caroline's case about her attachment to them don't they? Thankfully she doesn't agree and thinks they are being overprotective. Liz especially. She might have been an absentee mother but she is still looking out for her daughter. The thing is with Liz, Bonnie, and Elena is that they haven't really seen Caroline with Klaus so they don't get to see what all of the readers do.**

**To the Guest who asked, yes, Caroline was dressed in the white dress from 4x09. **

**Huge thanks to Nathania Le Fay for her help on my research of Barbados. She's been great with giving me information about her home country. **

Part 17

*Ding Dong*

*Ding Dong*

"Caroline, can you get that? It should be our driver," the blonde heard Klaus call down the stairs to her. She could tell he was busy; she could hear him arguing with Henry about how he didn't need a second bag of books and toys so she headed for the door. When she opened it, she was surprised at the sight of the man on the other side.

She had expected to see an elderly man, a traditional chauffeur for some reason, but this guy was definitely not either of those things. He was around her age, with broad shoulders, dark longish hair that fell down around his ears, and pale eyes. The combination was very…pleasing to the eye. "Um, can I help you?"

The man's lips curved up in a smile. "I'm Dean. Klaus asked me to come by to drive for him."

"Oh," Caroline replied. So he was their driver. "Come in."

Dean nodded in acknowledgement before stepping inside. She shut the door then turned around and put her hand out. "I'm Caroline."

"I figured. He's talked about you before at work. And I didn't think boss man had that many pretty blondes around to answer his door," Dean replied as he shook her hand before he motioned to the bags sitting nearby. "So I'm guessing these are ready to load up?"

"Uh yeah, with a few more coming down." Caroline couldn't help blushing a little at the compliment. "Let me help."

"No, no way that's what I'm here for. I can load this stuff up no problem," Dean assured her as he picked up a couple of bags.

He had just gone out the door when she heard footsteps on the stairs and saw Klaus descending them. "I assume that it was Dean at the door?"

"Yes," she replied. "I anticipated when you said we'd have a driver that you meant you'd have a car service."

"I didn't think that was necessary; my SUV is more than capable of handling all of our luggage. Dean will drive us there and then pick us up on our return," Klaus explained, confused by her statement. She was more than aware the vehicle he owned would be big enough, having driven his hybrid a few times herself. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no problem. Just wasn't what I expected is all," Caroline replied with a smile. "Everything all right upstairs?"

"Yes, I got it sorted. The twins should be down in a minute," Klaus replied. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the kids in question came down the stairs, their last bags in hand. Dean returned then and within fifteen minutes, they were loaded up and on their way to the airport. Klaus sat up front with Dean, while Caroline sat in the back with the twins.

They made it through traffic and the airport meeting up with Finn, Sage, their kids, as well as Stefan, Rebekah and Kol without any major setbacks, something that Caroline was grateful for. Traveling during the holidays was tough; doing it twice in as many days with the crowds was almost too much. However, the first class seats she was in this trip made up for it.

Having never traveled much, especially as a kid Caroline was surprised at how accustomed all of the kids were to flying. She would have been bouncing up and down in her seat by the window but while they were excited about the trip, it seemed that flying had become commonplace. Henry sat next to her, reading but she could tell that would be ending soon by the way he fidgeted.

"Dad? Can I switch seats with you so I can sit with Lex?" Henry asked.

"Yes, but make sure you two don't disrupt everyone else. And don't run off to your cousins' seats either," Klaus announced as he released his seatbelt. He gathered his carry-on bag before moving to switch places with his son. He smiled at Caroline briefly when he slid by her into his new seat. "Enjoying the flight?"

"Hmmm," Caroline answered, just before she yawned.

"Tired?" Klaus remarked.

Caroline nodded. "Back to back trips have worn me out."

"I'm not surprised," he commented. "It's why I offered to book your ticket leaving from Virginia instead of Boston. I didn't want you to be too tired nor cut your trip home short."

"I know, but it would have been a bigger hassle, I didn't pack the same clothes for this trip as I did for Barbados. Sweaters, jeans and boots would look a little funny on the beach. And there was no way I was bringing two sets of luggage," Caroline explained. "I'll just have the stewardess get me an espresso or five."

"I have a better idea, why not take advantage of the fact that your seat reclines and take a nap?" Klaus suggested.

"But the kids…"

"Are entertaining themselves at the moment. Besides, we are thousands of feet in the air in an airplane; there aren't many places they can go," he argued. "Get some rest. You're no good to us if you are asleep on your feet when we land."

Caroline bit her lip for a moment as she thought over what he said. She was very tired; a nap would do wonders for her lack of energy. She felt vaguely self-conscious about sleeping next to him; a person could do many embarrassing things while they were sleeping. Snoring, drooling...but eventually she got over it and nodded. "Okay, but if I sleep too long, wake me up when we start to land."

"Sleep well, sweetheart," Klaus said. She called the flight attendant over for a blanket and pillow before reclining in her seat. Within minutes, he heard her breathing even out and figured she was asleep. He glanced over and saw that she was indeed fast asleep. She must have been more tired than she had let on to fall asleep that quickly.

The house had seemed different over the last week while she had been gone. He and the kids had enjoyed the extra time together of course; nevertheless she had been missed. The twins had been very vocal about it, which made sense to him considering how much time they spent with her and the connection they shared with her. The one call to her that they had made on Christmas hadn't been enough. He had caught himself looking for her throughout the day, expecting to see her getting coffee in the morning, or coming out of her room only to remember that she wasn't there. It was odd to him that she had become such a fixture in their lives so quickly that it was odd not to have her around all of the time.

He saw the twins' heads pop up above their seats to look back at him out of the corner of his eye, Lexi's mouth open to say something but he brought his index finger to his lips to make sure that they be quiet when they spoke and didn't wake up the blonde next to him. They smiled as they nodded in understanding before sitting back down in their seats. Klaus looked over to make sure that Caroline was still sleeping before he pulled out his sketchbook and started to sketch.

/

From her spot in the foyer Caroline looked around the condo in shock. It had to have as many if not more square footage than her mom's house in MysticFalls. There was a hallway on either side of her that lead to what she assumed were bedrooms, and the entryway opened into a huge living room decorated in light colors and marble floors. It was taken up by a huge u-shaped couch, which faced the large flat screen TV on the opposite wall. But the thing that really caught her eye was the back wall. In the center of it was a huge arched doorway that opened onto a porch with a gorgeous view of the beach and ocean beyond. "Holy…crap."

Klaus heard her exclamation from where he was shutting the front door after the porters left and chuckled. "Not what you were expecting?"

"No, not exactly," she replied. "I figured just a small suite or something with a kitchenette. Not a freaking house."

"Dad can we go out on the beach?" Henry asked.

"Not tonight, we have to get settled in here and meet everyone for dinner. Besides the sun will be going down shortly," Klaus answered his son. "You and Lexi take your bags and find your room. It's the only one with two beds in it. I'm going to show Caroline her room and the rest of the house."

The kids quickly grabbed their stuff before scampering down one of the hallways in search of their room. Klaus chuckled at their excitement before turning to Caroline and leading her farther into the living room. "This condominium has three bedrooms, one for each of us and the twins are sharing the third, a full but small kitchen is to the left of the terrace door. It's attached to the indoor dining room. There is also an outdoor cooking area that includes a grill, bar, and mini-fridge, and full table out on the terrace. The terrace opens out onto the beach but is surrounded by a privacy fence. The beach beyond is open to anyone who is a guest of the resort and there are lifeguards patrolling the waters."

"Okay," Caroline said, taking it in as she looked around, trying to absorb all he was telling her. "Do you plan to make use of the kitchen or will we be eating out?"

"A little of both. We are meeting the rest of the family tonight at the main building, they have a couple of restaurants in addition to a spa, fitness center and a few other things to appease their guests," Klaus explained. "There is a grocer not far from here; we can have them deliver in the morning."

The blonde nodded. "Is there a pool or just the beach for swimming?"

"There is a pool, multiple ones around the resort. One is not far, just a couple of buildings down from Elijah and Katherine's condo. They are to the east of us, while Sage and Finn are to the west. Rebekah, Stefan and Kol are sharing a flat closer to the main building," Klaus stated. "I'll show you which is your room if you are ready?"

"Um, sure," Caroline agreed. She followed him back to the foyer where she gathered up her luggage.

She no sooner picked up her carry on and small travel case than Klaus pulled her luggage handle out of her reach. "I've got it love, this way."

She trailed behind him as he led her down the hallway that the twins had went down towards two doors. She could hear giggles coming from one door but he turned into the other one. When she stepped into it, she felt her eyes grow even larger.

The room was decorated in white and pale teal with light oak furniture, a large bed with dresser and side tables. It was a good size room but appeared larger due to the fact that one of the walls contained another arched door that lead out onto a patio. She found herself drifting towards the door and as she passed through it she realized that it was different than the one off the living room. She had her own freaking patio!

Klaus watched her reaction as she came into the room and couldn't help but smirk. "I hope that this will be comfortable enough for you."

Caroline rolled her eyes at him. "I think I'll manage."

"Well I'll let you get settled. I'm going to check on the twins and then unpack myself. If you need me, I'm down the other hallway from the foyer."

She watched as he retreated from her room but before he closed the door, she said, "Thank you, for all of this."

"You're welcome," Klaus responded.

Once he was gone and the door was shut, Caroline looked around the room again, taking it all in before falling back onto her bed with a squeal.

**So they are finally in Barbados. What did you think of the part?**

**If you want to have a look at the condo that I used to describe the one above, go to **www dot portstcharles dot com/villa-rentals **and scroll down to the bottom where it says Three bedroom beach view.**


	19. Part 18 Memories

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well it looks like everyone wants to go to Barbados! We should all go, get a group rate. On the link that I previously posted, if you didn't click on the pictures at the bottom, do so and you'll see a lot more of the condos.**

**I have gotten several reviews saying that they just found my story and I wanted to say hello and welcome all my new readers! Thank you everyone for the reviews, we hit 500! Holy crap that blows my mind.**

**ilovetvd-Wanted to answer you directly but I couldn't. You are the only one to figure out that hint. **

Part 18 Memories

After finishing her dinner, Caroline sat back in her seat and tried to absorb the scene in front of her. All thirteen Mikaelsons plus Stefan were seated around her, split between two tables. All of the kids, except for Daniel, were at the smaller table while the adults were seated around a large round table eating and talking animatedly.

It hadn't taken her too long to unpack, so Caroline had taken a quick shower to wash off all of the grime from traveling all day before braiding her hair and dress in one of the sundresses she had brought. It was cold when they had flown out of Boston this morning so, when they had arrived on the island, she had been overdressed in a pair of jeans and long sleeve shirt; the lighter garment was welcomed. She had noticed then that it was time for dinner and had left her room to find Klaus and the twins.

They had been in the living room, all of them also dressed in fresh weather appropriate clothes. The kids were in shorts and short sleeve shirts while Klaus had changed out of his jeans and long sleeve Henley and into a V-neck short sleeve gray shirt and khakis. They had then headed out and walked up to the main building of the resort. It had been a scenic walk; she had been able to see more of the resort and beach.

Once they had reached the restaurant, they had met up with the other members of the family before being seated. They were in a private dining area out on the beach. There was floor and a roof but no actual walls which gave diners a wonderful breeze and view of the ocean. The two married couples had automatically taken spots next to each other and, though not married yet, Stefan and Rebekah had followed suit. Klaus had designated the seat next to him as hers, which left Kol to squeeze into the last empty chair since Daniel took the other one next to his parents.

She came from a small family, the only child of parents who only each had one sibling themselves. Her friends' families were larger especially Bonnie's, who was also an only child but had a ton of cousins. However, Caroline had never been to a family dinner like this before. They shared bottles of wine and plates of food while they talked and joked loudly. Caroline couldn't help but think it was good that they were in an open area or the noise level might be too much.

It was a bit overwhelming at first, but she had quickly relaxed into the situation. After all, she had been around all of them at one time before at Lexi's meet but this was different. This was more comfortable and laid back, instead of excited and nervous like at the meet. And she was enjoying every minute of it.

Caroline looked next to her where Klaus was sitting, a huge smile on his face as he talked to Elijah, who was seated on his other side. Without breaking away from his conversation, he reached over for one of the bottles of wine in front of him, refilling his glass before moving to do the same with hers. She stopped him though by putting her hand over top of it. He looked at her confused. "One is enough for me, maybe too much."

"Worried you won't be able to hold your liquor, sweetheart?"

"Not a bit, but I am technically on the clock, so I don't think I should be drinking a lot, even if you have been the one serving me," Caroline explained as she looked pointedly at the kids.

Klaus saw her look at the twins and realized his mistake. He had been acting as if she was simply a guest of theirs who had joined them on vacation instead of an employee accompanying them. Their rapport had become so casual in the last month that it had made it easy for him to forget. But in looking at her, he should have noticed the French braid she had her hair pulled up, her clear sign that she was taking care of the kids. "My apologies, you are right."

"Besides, if she drinks too much tonight, she won't be able to keep up with me tomorrow, right Care?" Stefan asked from where he sat on her other side next to Rebekah.

"I assume that the two of you are fancying going for a run in the morning?" Klaus asked glancing between the blonde and his friend though he was sure he was correct. He knew that Caroline ran frequently as a means to stay in shape and wasn't surprised that she would continue to do so on vacation.

"Yep, I've already looked at a map for some of the running trails that were left at our condo. I've never ran in a place that is so…exotic," Caroline said excitedly. "But don't worry, I'll be back to help with the kids' breakfast."

"Take your time; I promised the twins we'd play on the beach tomorrow as well as possibly one of the pools, so there is no rush," Klaus replied simply. True that the reason she had come with them was to help, but this time was different than when they were at home; she didn't have to be on the clock all of the time. After all, it wasn't as if he would be rushing off to work in the morning.

"I think Bekah and I will be joining you, I think she needs a bit of a break after all of the wedding stuff she's been dealing with over the past week," Stefan stated.

Upon hearing her name, said blonde turned her attention away from her conversation with Kol to join them. "Well if the wedding planner we'd hired did her job and hired the right people then we wouldn't be in this mess."

"What happened?" Caroline asked, last she had heard everything was ready to go for the wedding. Her question was met with a groan from Klaus, which only earned him a glare from his sister before she explained. "Apparently, the photographer that Bree hired was too good to be true and not able to meet our needs. We booked him six months ago and he has just now decided this."

"Um, I don't know if it would help, but one of the girls' father at Lexi's gym is a photographer. He does the photos and videos for the gym as a favor, but his work is good. Really good," Caroline declared. "I could ask Anna for his contact information if you are interested."

"If he's as good as you say he is, I highly doubt he would be available to us," Rebekah retorted, though Caroline could tell that she was considering her words.

"They just moved to town four months ago, so he's trying to establish himself. Maybe you can meet with him when we get back? Or he could probably email you some of his portfolio," Caroline offered as she used her phone to quickly pull up the gym's website. Once she got to the pictures she was looking for, she reached over Stefan to show Rebekah. Though the other blonde tried to hide her reaction, she could tell that Rebekah approved of what she was seeing. Once she saw all of what the website had to offer, Caroline quickly sent a message to Anna asking for the information.

"Thank you very much, Caroline; if this photographer works out, I will be in your debt," Rebekah replied. "I might not even expect a wedding present from you."

Caroline wasn't sure what to say to that; she hadn't even been aware that she was invited to the wedding. She thought she might be since she was quasi-friends with Stefan but hadn't gotten an invitation yet so she really had no clue. "You're welcome."

"Bekah," Kol called to get his sister's attention. "Settle a bet between Finn and I. He says that you are the only one of us who has never broken anything, but I know I remember you breaking your shoulder when I was eight. You were chasing after us and fell."

"I didn't break it," Rebekah answered.

"Yes, you did. I remember it," Kol insisted.

"She didn't break it, she dislocated it," Klaus interrupted. His voice, Caroline could swear, held a touch of irritation in it.

"Oh, are you sure? I could have sworn she broke it. I remember it being in a sling…."

"Drop it, Kol," Rebekah warned just as Klaus replied, "I'm quite certain of it, brother; if you recall, Father was quite upset with me that she got hurt."

Caroline watched as Kol's eyes widened a bit at his brother's statement. "Um, right."

The jovial, easy-going mood of the dinner vanished at that moment. Caroline wasn't entirely sure what was going on but she could see the rigidity of Klaus's body and knew that he was upset, though she didn't think his anger was directed at Kol. She watched as he looked over at the twins who were still eating before standing. "I'm going to get some air."

Without another word, he walked away from the table and towards one of the exits that lead to the beach. Once he disappeared, the tension eased a little bit only to be replaced by something else, something she couldn't put her finger on. And she wasn't going to ask because whatever it was it was their business.

When the wait staff came to deliver their deserts a few minutes later, the tension seemed to break and conversation returned, though muted. Caroline saw the plate holding Klaus's desert and made a decision. She leaned over his empty chair towards Elijah so she could talk to his wife, "Katherine, will you keep an eye on the twins for a few minutes? I'll be right back."

Knowing that she was planning to follow his brother out, Elijah spoke up. "Caroline, perhaps you should stay here. Niklaus will return when he is ready."

But Katherine didn't seem to agree. "Go on, they'll be fine."

Katherine watched as Caroline picked up Nik's plate as well as her own, Caroline headed in the direction that he had gone. She turned back to her husband then. "I think she'd be more likely to calm him don't you think?"

Elijah studied his wife for a minute. "Are you sure that was the smart thing to do?"

Katherine merely shrugged as she smiled at him.

Caroline knew he wouldn't have gone far, even knowing that his children were being looked after. She faltered a minute, wondering if he would be upset with her that she had left the kids as well but decided to keep moving. She found him only about twenty feet away from the restaurant, leaning against a large chair while starring at the water. He must have heard her because he turned as she approached. He looked at the plates in her hands and shook his head. "I'm not very hungry at the moment."

"Yeah, well this is crème brule and you can't just let that go to waste. It's like a sin if you do." Caroline replied as she shoved the plate into his hands giving him no choice but to take it. "I just wanted to come out and check on you. I thought we could have desert before we go back inside. Elijah and Katherine are watching the twins for a minute."

Klaus opened his mouth to argue but shut it when he couldn't come up with a valid argument. Instead, he eyed her plate and scoffed. "That's not a desert."

"Are you kidding me? These are mini macaroons, they are unbelievably tasty. Don't knock my desert." Caroline said as she picked one off the plate and popped it in her mouth. As it landed on her tongue, she could not help but moan at taste. "So good."

Klaus couldn't help but stare at her as she enjoyed her desert. His mind briefly flitted to the idea of if she made similar noises any time she felt pleasure but quickly shut the thought down. Instead, he turned his focus to the plate Caroline had given him and broke the crust with his spoon. They stood there in silence and watched the waves smash against the beach. He wasn't sure if it was the company or just time but he slowly felt the anger and fury leaving his body.

After he had eaten a majority of his desert, he spoke. "Thank you earlier, for helping Bekah."

"It was nothing, I barely did anything." Caroline said.

"Well that's not what she thought but I appreciate it. Even if she doesn't do the best job of showing it." Klaus replied.

"Your family is fun to be around. I have never around a family with so many siblings and you are all so close. You guys just all seem to love being around each other."

"Yes, we do. Family is very important to us." Klaus stated. He considered his words carefully before he continued. "About earlier…"

"Klaus, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. It's none of my business." Caroline declared.

He smiled a little at her words; he could see that she was speaking the truth although he was sure that she was curious as to what had happened. "Our father…he was a hard man. He thought that children were an asset more than a blessing. He expected excellence and pressed us to get what he wanted. And when we did something to displease or disappoint him, he made sure we knew of it and that we would not do it again. Me more so than the others."

"That sounds like a rough way to grow up." Caroline admitted.

"It was." Klaus agreed. "However there are two things that came out of his iron grip on us. The first being the bond you mentioned between us."

"And the second?"

"I learned very early the type of father I never wanted to be." Klaus confessed.

Caroline looked over and starred into his sorrowful eyes. "You're nothing like that Klaus."

"And I never will be." He said.

"Let's go back inside, I'm sure Lexi and Henry are looking for you." Caroline suggested. She had a feeling that seeing the kids that were his whole world would be the best thing to drive the ghosts of his childhood away.

Klaus nodded before heading back with her, walking side by side. When they reached the area that his family was at, both of the twins' heads turned in their direction and smiled brightly, both of their mouths covered in ice cream and syrup. Caroline couldn't help but giggle a little at the sight they made. She heard Klaus chuckling as well as he walked over to their table. "I think the two of you got more of it on your faces than you did in your mouths."

"We are going to have to hose them down." Caroline agreed as she picked up a nearby napkin. As she and Klaus proceeded to help clean up the sticky mess that the twins had become, his family looked on. They all noticed the smile on their brother/brother-in-law's face, knew that the incident earlier had been forgotten, and were all pretty sure it had to do with the blonde next to him.

**like it? hate it?**

**I've had some people ask when we are going to see some skin. Next part I promise!**


	20. Part 19 Day at the Beach

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello Lovelies, your eyes aren't deceiving you, I am updating early. Writing has been going well so far and everyone has been begging for an early update so here it is. **

**I just wanted to put another warning on this story that this is a slow build up fic. I've had people asking when they are going to get together but before I do that, I have to build up their attraction to having feelings. That comes with time, time spent together knowing each other. When they get together both Klaus and Caroline are risking a lot, he doesn't want to risk losing a great person who his kids love nor does he want them to see him with her or other women because the kids could get hurt emotionally by that, and Caroline could be potentially risking her career. So when they get together, its needs to be more than just a hook up or because they think the other one is hot. They are attracted to each other and are starting to care about each other but are ignoring it and mistaking it for simple friendship. It's the others around him especially Klaus's family that sees there's something more. I know this is fiction but I still like to keep things as true to real life when I write AU/AH as possible. That being said, things will start moving in that direction pretty soon. **

**Thank you all for your reviews, they are like a drug to me. **

Part 19

"Where's Caroline?" Rebekah asked.

"Still inside getting ready. She got delayed due to Lexi needing help with her suit," Klaus answered his sister. They were currently on the beach in front of their temporary residence, spread out on several lounge chairs and large towels. Everyone save for Caroline and Lexi that is. "She should be out in a moment."

"Dad…are you done yet?" Henry whined from where sat in front of his father. He was getting sun block put on and was not happy that his playing was being delayed.

"Yes, I'm done," Klaus answered as he looked over the boy's back to make sure he had gotten in all on him. Henry had inherited his skin tone and didn't burn easily, like Lexi did but he made sure to keep both kids covered in sun block when they were out. "But wait here while I finish your sister."

"But Dad!" Henry whined. "Noah and Connor are waiting."

"And they aren't going anywhere," Klaus reminded him as he looked over where his nephews were getting similar treatment by their mother. Both of their boys had inherited their mother's red hair and pale skin and Sage was even more diligent on sun care than he was. "Lexi, your turn sweetheart."

As his daughter sat down and his son scampered over to join his cousins, Klaus glanced back towards the condo just in time to see Caroline stepping off the terrace as she walked towards them. When he had left her earlier, she was still dressed in the same shorts and t-shirt she had put on following her after-workout shower, so he hadn't seen her in her swimsuit until now. He was glad he had on sunglasses, otherwise he was sure everyone would have seen his eyes widen to twice their size like one of those cartoon wolves on television.

Compared to the other women on the beach, her one-piece suit would be considered modest. None of the younger women on the beach wore anything more than a two-piece, hell even Katherine was wearing a bikini regardless of the fact that she had started to show. However, Klaus thought that if she was trying to cover up and hide her sensuality, she had seriously underestimated herself.

The suit was dark blue, and fit her perfectly. The bottom was cut in a way that highlighted her lean legs making them look longer if it were possible, before molding over her hips and flat stomach. The halter-top curved over her chest, splitting in the middle and allowing a generous peak at the cleavage, before tying behind her neck. He couldn't help but think that one quick tug on that tie would cause her breasts to be bare to him.

His attention was brought away from her when he felt a towel hit him in the face. He grabbed a hold of the offensive piece of terrycloth and looked over at the person who had hit him with it. Stefan smirked back at him, "Thought you might need that, to mop up the drool."

Klaus glared at his friend even though the other man couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses. However, Stefan seem to get the point and his smirk only got bigger causing Klaus to throw the towel back at him.

As Caroline approached the group, she couldn't help but notice that there were really good genes in the Mikaelson family. All of the guys were well built and easy on the eyes. Something she could see Kol using to his advantage as he waved to a couple of girls from his chair.

She saw Klaus looking at her but she couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses. She was glad that she too wore shades otherwise; he would see the way her eyes raked down over his body. Even though they had been living in the same house for months, Caroline had never seen him in less than pajama or sweat pants and a tank top. That little tease was nothing compared to how he looked as he sat in front of her in nothing but a pair of black swim trucks and she found herself stumbling a little in the sand before she righted herself.

He wasn't overbuilt like some guys but she found his lean sculpted chest vastly sexier. She was aware that he had broad shoulders but she could see the strong well-built chest that went with them as well as the developed abdomen. The muscles of his arms and upper body moved and rippled a little as his hands moved to accomplish their task. Remembering the hard muscles of his chest that was beneath her on Halloween, she couldn't help it when a shiver went up her spine. She noticed there was a small patch of chest hair in the center as well as an assortment of small scars over his chest but her eyes were drawn more to the tattoo ink on the left side. She could see it clearly now, though it didn't clue her in on what it was exactly. There were two lines of small individual symbols, the top one longer than the bottom one. She realized that she was starring and couldn't help the blush that rose on her cheeks.

Lexi noticed Caroline's arrival just then. "Caroline, you're still going to go in the water with us then aren't you?"

"Sure thing. I just need to get some sunscreen on too," she answered as she reached into bag and pulled out her own bottle of lotion, trying to keep her eyes on the little girl instead of her father's bare form behind her. "Wouldn't want to look like a lobster after our first day here would I?"

Caroline sat down on an empty chair and began applying the lotion to her legs. As she did, she heard Kol and Rebekah trying to talk Stefan into something, and he wasn't budging. "What are you guys talking about?"

"We are trying to get Stefan to go to a club with us tonight. Leaving the old people here for a night," Kol replied, turning away from the discussion to answer her. "Honestly, do you really think you aren't going to go? Bekah wants to go and we all know she has you wrapped around her little finger."

"Why don't you want to go?" Caroline asked Stefan.

"Just not in the mood to go clubbing," he responded with a shrug. "Clubbing in Boston is one thing; here the clubs will be filled with too drunk tourists."

"He's just being stubborn," Rebekah retorted. "It's PrivaBarbados. Very exclusive and not just a tourist bar. You should come with us."

"Yes, darling you should definitely come with us. That is if my dear brother will let you. What do you say Nik, can Caroline come out to play with us?" Kol asked, his voice clearly trying to taunt his brother.

His goading though seemed to get the intended affect when she saw a scowl mar Klaus' face. "If she wishes to go, I won't stop her. It's up to her."

"What do you say, Caroline?" Rebekah asked. "I promise to keep Kol from driving you too crazy; he'll be too busy trying to find some female companionship."

"She speaks the truth there, unless you would prefer to keep me company?" Kol asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Kol…" Klaus growled in warning.

"Just teasing," Kol countered. "If you decide to come with us, I promise to treat you with the same respect as I do my dear sister here. But you really should come, have some fun."

"Well…" Caroline said unsure. Despite the fact that this was a working vacation, it was still a vacation. Moreover, according to all of the plans that people were throwing around last night during dinner, it might be the only night she wasn't watching the kids. "Okay, I'll go. I think I even have something that I can wear."

"Excellent," Rebekah replied before she looked back over at her fiancé. "Now you have to go, Stefan."

Caroline heard Stefan grumbling a bit as she reached around trying to reach the one spot she had yet to put sun block on, her back. It wasn't the easiest place to reach and she struggled. "Do you want some help?"

She turned around at the sound of Klaus' offer. "What?"

"You look like you are struggling a bit, sweetheart. I can help if you like," he explained. He knew that his offer wasn't the smartest thing for him to do but he also didn't want her to get burned. Her swimsuit dipped low on her back and left a lot of exposed skin.

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked, not certain that she was open to the idea but she didn't have much choice if she didn't want her sensitive skin to burn.

"I've already gotten my hands dirty so to speak." Klaus held up his hands to show her what he meant.

She nodded her agreement but before she could move to where Lexi had been sitting, he stood and made his way over to her chair. "Scoot forward."

Caroline did as he instructed and moved forward in the lounge chair so that he was able to sit behind her. Once he was settled, she handed him her bottle of lotion to use before she pulled her loose braid over her shoulder. She felt her body tensing as she waited for him and tried to will herself to relax. A moment later when she felt his warm hands touch her back, her nerves began to subside.

Klaus started at the top of her neck and slowly worked the lotion into her pale skin. The lotion created a barrier between her skin and his hands so he was not able to feel her skin completely but from what he could feel, made him not want to stop touching her. "I hope my hands aren't too rough."

"No, they are fine," Caroline replied. His hands were slightly callused but in no way were they rough. The texture as well as the firmness of his strokes on her back felt wonderful, very soothing and she had to keep herself from leaning back into him.

When his hands moved farther down her back, her bodies' reaction turned from relaxation to something different. His fingertips moved against her spine and felt more like a sensual caress than him just rubbing the lotion on her. Her lower back was very sensitive and she had to bite back a moan when his thumbs massaged it.

As he moved his hands leisurely down her spine, Klaus felt Caroline relaxing into his strokes. He found himself having to bite back a smile when he heard a muffled whimper coming from her. What he was doing was completely innocent but like on Halloween, he found the most chaste of touches were anything but when he was touching her.

However, when his fingers moved lower and felt a difference in the surface of her skin, his concentration moved to something else. He looked down and saw a jagged piece of raised skin under his fingertips. And then he saw more. They were scars, old scars by the look of them but scars just the same. His mind wondered to what they were from, but his fidgety children pulled his attention to them. They had been busy with the other kids burying each other in the sand but now they were ready to go into the water. "All done."

"What?" Caroline asked absently, she had been so focused on the feel of his hands on her skin that she had momentarily forgotten her surroundings.

"The twins are about to start a mutiny if we don't get them in the water," Klaus explained, getting up from behind her.

"Oh, right," she replied as she too got up. She kicked off her sandals, put down her sunglasses and headed down with the kids. Finn and Sage were already in the water with their kids, Katherine and Elijah had Daniel down by the water, playing on the wet sand where the waves reached.

Caroline had been to the ocean before, thought it was exceptionally beautiful but had never been a huge fan of swimming in it. Nevertheless, she had promised the kids that she would get into the water with them and she wasn't going to disappoint them.

Klaus saw her hesitating and looked at her curiously. She smiled bashfully. "Don't pay attention to me; I'm just having flashbacks to watching Jaws."

He couldn't help but chuckle at her statement, as he watched her move farther into the water when Lexi started yelling to them. "Caroline! Come on!"

Within a few minutes, Caroline calmed down in the water as she played with the twins. She swam races with each of them and their father, as well as played tag and body surfed. She had completely forgotten her apprehension until later when the four of them were wave jumping and she felt something touch her leg. She brushed it off until it happened again a minute later as they were cresting a large wave.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked from next to her, he had been holding her hand while they were wave jumping and had felt her flinch.

"Something just brushed my leg," the blonde answered.

Henry's brow furrowed and looked down as a wave went by them again. "It might be a fish, or something."

"It's probably just seaweed or something," Caroline said just before another large wave came through, this one almost over Henry's head. She had to bite back a scream when she felt something again, this time it was more of a nip. "But maybe we should go closer to shore, whatever it is I think just tried to nibble on me."

"Oh, maybe it's a cookie cutter shark, they don't bite. They just latch on and chew…"

"Henry! Not helping to calm me down here," she retorted as another wave came by, however this time she noticed movement beneath the waves that was definitely not any fish. Her fear disappeared as the two heads popped up next to them. "You! You scared the crap out of me!"

Klaus and Lexi laughed at Caroline's fury, "Come on, love, we were just having a bit of fun."

"Fun huh?" She said before looking at Lexi. "And you, you little traitor! I thought girls were supposed to stick together."

But Lexi was laughing too hard to say anything; she was enjoying her dad's stunt too much so Caroline decided to get revenge on the ringleader by using both hands to splash him in the face. However, that just seemed to egg him on and he splashed her back. Pretty soon it became an all out war between the four of them that only stopped some time later when it was time to head in.

**So what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Sorry I didn't go into more detail about the other Mikaelson men, for some reason just the small paragraph I had for Klaus took me forever. **

**We had a little bit of everything in that chapter, sexual tension, family time, banter. I actually had a family member do the exact same thing Klaus did to Caroline in the water, so not cool. **

**For those of you who might have noticed, I had changed this from M to T but it is now back to M. I plan for smut to happen later so even though the story thus far has been definitely in the T catagory, it will go M later so I'm keeping it now at M. **

**Next part, Caroline's night out. Nothing bad could happen could it?**


	21. Part 20 Damsel in Distress?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello lovelies! How is everyone? **

**The reviews for the last part were phenomenal! I tried to have a little bit of everything in there, UST, Klefan, hints of character's unknown history, and family time with the twins. I apologize for the lack of twins lately, they have been otherwise occupied with spending time with the other members of their family but will be back in it hopefully soon**.

**Glad you liked the Sunscreen scene, I didn't think it was that hot but apparently I was wrong. And everyone seemed to like the descriptions of Klaus and Caroline's bodies so uber happy to see that. As to what Klaus' tattoos are and how Caroline got her scars, you will find out the answers to both, one sooner than the other.**

**Thanks to CeCeVolume for her help betaing this. **

Part 20

As he sat on the terrace alone, the only noise Klaus could hear was the sound of the nearby waves crashing along the shore. It was very peaceful and, between the waves, the activity of the day, and the glass of wine in his hand, he knew he could easily fall asleep in the large lounger he was reclined in. However, something kept him from giving in to sleep or, more accurately, someone.

Caroline was not back from going to the club with his younger siblings and Stefan yet. He knew that he didn't have to stay up and wait for her—she was a grown woman—but he found himself wanting to. He told himself it was to make sure she got home safely, but that was just the excuse he used. He wanted to see if she'd had a good time and if she had found someone to have a good time with. She'd looked stunning when she had left, dressed in a simple flowered dress with spaghetti straps, her hair down in loose curls, and he had no doubt that she would have plenty of attention at the club.

His mind automatically went to their time at the beach earlier, mostly how Caroline looked in her swimsuit and how her skin had felt under his hands. He knew he was attracted to her, had been since he first met her, however lately it seemed to be popping up in his mind more and more. It wasn't surprising considering his lack of sex life combined with the large amounts of time he spent with her and the attraction he felt. But he needed to squash the desires; she was off limits to him. Perhaps it was time to find an outlet for the tension he felt—someone other than himself, that is—if just for a little bit.

He hadn't lied to Caroline when he said he didn't date. He didn't. But that didn't mean that he had lived the last six years as a monk, either. He was nowhere near the "man whore" Kol was, but there had been a few women over the years that he had had liaisons with, in only the physical sense. Just two consenting adults with no attachments, a perfect set up for him. Then the temptation of living around Caroline wouldn't be as strong, nor would it impede on their working relationship and growing friendship.

When he hired Caroline, he knew that her personality would make the idea of living with a stranger more bearable, but he had no anticipated her becoming a friend. There were only a handful of people that he would give that title to.

Right then, the voice of the blonde currently occupying his thoughts drifted up from the beach. "Kol, I'm fine. Stop jumping around me like a squirrel who's had too much coffee."

"You only have yourself to blame; when I said I wanted to be entertained tonight, I wasn't expecting it from you," Kol replied.

Caroline and Kol came into view at that moment. Klaus put down his glass and stood up quickly when he saw that she had a bloody napkin wrapped around her right hand. He rushed to her side and wrapped his arm around her to help her up the steps.

"I can walk on my own; it's just my hand," she stated.

"What did you do?" Klaus asked, glaring at Kol.

"It's not Kol's fault," Caroline argued.

Klaus removed the bloodied napkin then and saw that the blood was coming from slight scrapes on her knuckles, which were also swollen. "We need to get you inside and clean those up."

Without waiting for an answer, he gently pulled her into the condo and into the kitchen. Thankfully, it was close to the backdoor and away from the bedrooms, so they didn't have to worry about waking the twins. "Will someone tell me what the bloody hell happened?"

"We were at the club and I was dancing with Rebekah and Stefan—well, mostly Rebekah. And these two drunk idiots took two girls dancing as an invitation and tried to grope me at the bar later," Caroline explained. "So I made sure they understood that it wasn't."

"You should have seen her, Nik. These two blokes on either side of her, grabbing onto her…."

"Where were Bekah and Stefan? Where were you?" Klaus growled as he rinsed Caroline's hand under the faucet.

"They were at our booth, engrossed in each other, and I was occupied…but came over as soon as I saw what was going on. However, this lovely woman is not so much a damsel in distress as she is an Amazon warrior," Kol argued. "Now, as the what I was saying, I was almost up to these two guys when she grabbed the guy who had his hand on her ass and twisted it behind his back before she shoved him away. He tripped as he went and hit the wall. Knocked him out cold."

"I gave them fair warning," Caroline declared. "They just didn't want to hear it."

"So you just stood back and did nothing?" Klaus asked Kol.

"No, I went to help her, but honestly she had it covered," his brother stated. "Kind of a blow to my ego, if I am to be honest."

"So how did this happen?" Klaus asked while motioning to her hand.

"Well, the other guy didn't like what I did to his friend so, when I tried to walk away, he grabbed my left arm," Caroline explained, showing him said arm, which was red and starting to show finger-shaped bruises. "So I punched him."

"Your girl here has quite the right hook. Almost knocked the guy's teeth out!" Kol exclaimed. "Then the bouncer came over to take care of the guy and I got her out of there. She didn't want to stick around."

"It was a little too much excitement for me," she admitted. "I just wanted to come back here; I told Kol he could stay but he…."

"Values his life. If I had let you come home by yourself, Nik would have torn out my liver," Kol stated, looking over at his brother who was thankfully too busy cleaning up the nanny's hands to pay him too much attention. Or so he thought.

"With my bare hands," Klaus agreed as he dried off Caroline's hands gently.

"And now that I have delivered you into said hands, I'm going to take my leave," Kol declared. "Caroline, thank you for a delightfully entertaining evening."

Klaus and Caroline both said goodnight to Kol before he slipped out, this time leaving through the front door. Once he knew that her skin was dry, Klaus retrieved another towel and some ice from the freezer. "You need to put some ice on those if you want to keep the swelling down."

"Thanks," she acknowledged with a smile as he gently placed the towel on her hand. "This seems to be becoming a habit. You bandaging me up."

"Well, you seem to need it," Klaus replied with a smirk. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, really," she insisted.

"You probably want to go to bed; I'm sure the excitement made you tired."

"Quite the opposite, actually. I'm very awake," Caroline stated. It was then that she noticed that he was only dressed in a pair of pajama bottoms. After spending the afternoon around him in a similar state of undress, she should have been used to it, but she felt her cheeks flush and her eyes roam over the hard planes. Then she realized that his attire could mean that she had woken or disturbed him. "Sorry if I interrupted whatever you were doing."

"I was just enjoying some time out on the terrace. You didn't interrupt anything," Klaus assured her. "Since you sound like you are going to be up, would you like to join me?"

"That sounds nice. On one condition."

"What's that, sweetheart?"

"Will you tell me what those mean?" Caroline asked as she pointed to his tattoos.

Klaus chuckled at her question. "I think I am getting the better end of this deal, but yes, I will. But first I'm going to top off my drink. Can I get you anything?"

"I think I have had enough alcohol tonight," Caroline answered as she walked to the refrigerator and retrieved a bottle of water while he reclaimed his wine glass and topped it off. Once they were done, they retreated to the terrace, Klaus taking the seat he had been occupying earlier and Caroline taking the one next to him. "Okay, spill."

"You have taken quite the interest in my body art, haven't you?" he asked.

There was more than teasing in his tone, but she just shrugged. "I just find it surprising, I guess. I shouldn't, considering how mainstream tattoos have become. However, yours are not quite the pick and stick type of tattoo I see on people."

"No, that they are not. They are completely unique. They are the children's names," Klaus stated before pointing to the top line. "This one is Alexandria, since she is the older of the two, and this one is Henrik."

"Really?" Caroline replied as she moved forward to look closer.

"When they were born, I knew I wanted something permanent to mark the changes in my life that they brought, but I also wanted something unique," Klaus explained. "They are written in old Norse runes. My family is supposedly descended from Vikings, so after doing some research, I drew the runes and had them inked."

"I'm assuming that their location over your heart was done on purpose?" Caroline asked and smiled when he nodded. "You know, I don't think I have ever asked how you picked their names. They're somewhat old-fashioned."

"I didn't know that was considered bad."

"It's not. It wasn't an insult, just an observation," she stated. "Did you pick them or…."

"Tatia made a few suggestions, but I was the one who actually chose the names. Alexandria is named after the great city in Egypt, where we had travelled a year before. Henrik is named after my younger brother," Klaus answered, taking a drink from his glass.

"I remember Ayanna mentioning him; she said he passed away when he was a teenager?" Caroline asked somewhat hesitantly. She had noticed how the tone of his voice had changed when he had mentioned his brother. She might be pressing her luck, but she still asked. She felt like she was always talking about herself during their one on one conversations—talking about her childhood, her parents' divorce, her friends, and pretty much everything else. That was until lately, when he seemed more open to sharing things with her.

"Yes."

"Since you named your son after him, I assume you were close?" Caroline inquired.

"Yes, we were quite close. He was the youngest and there were quite a few years between us, but we had a unique bond. When I left for University, he took it quite hard. We both did, but I came home as often as I could to visit," Klaus explained, a small smile on his face as he thought about his baby brother. The memories were painful, in ways more painful than any other, but they were also treasured because they were all he had left of him.

"Um, how did he die? Was he ill?" she asked. While she knew that death didn't discriminated, it wasn't typical for one so young to die, either. At least not in her experience.

"An accident…an accident that was my fault," he confessed. As the admission left his lips, his eyes looked to Caroline's to see her reaction. He expected to see surprise followed by disgust and revulsion, but only saw surprise and empathy.

"What happened?"

Her question was met with silence and she wondered if she had pushed him too much. She could see the guilt in his eyes when he had answered her previous question and couldn't help but feel sympathy towards him. Before she could reconsider her actions, she reached forward where his hand rested on his leg.

Feeling the soft touch of her hand, he looked down to see her uninjured hand wrap around the top of his. He spread his fingers and felt her fingertips move between them before she squeezed it reassuringly. "I was home for Spring holiday from school and Henrik wanted to go to one of the nearby St. Patrick's Day festivals. I didn't want to go; I thought it would be a madhouse. But he wanted to go. He begged me all day until I finally gave in. And I wished I hadn't.

"It was still early in the evening when we left. I was on foot, but Henrik wanted to ride his bike. We were almost there, just across the street, and he went ahead on his bike. A drunk wanker came flying out of nowhere and crashed into him." Klaus paused when he felt her hand squeeze his hand tighter. He looked over and saw that she had closed her eyes and her body had gone rigid at his tale of the car accident. He thought it was too much before he heard her whisper. "It must have been…horrible."

"I could only stand there and watch as he flew ten feet in the air before he crashed onto the pavement. I ran to him and tried to help; yelling at the same time for someone to call an ambulance, but it was too late. I stayed with him even after they took him away."

"Klaus, it wasn't your fault," Caroline stated as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

But Klaus shook his head. "I knew that there was a risk; it was St. Patrick's Day and there were drunks everywhere."

"And it was the guy who had too much to drink and got behind the wheel's fault," she insisted. "Not yours."

"That's what my siblings said. But my parents…they didn't see it that way. And my father made sure I knew it," he confessed. "After I got out of the hospital, I was disowned."

Caroline found herself confused. "I didn't realize you were hurt as well."

"I wasn't," Klaus acknowledged.

It clicked then what he was saying and her eyes fell to the scars she had noticed on his chest earlier. She didn't know if they were from that incident or possibly before. She wasn't naïve enough to think that if his father had hurt him once, he hadn't hurt him before. The man was beyond vile in her opinion.

"I went back to University after; I didn't have a choice. I had some money in my accounts, but everything was paid for until the end of the semester. Henrik's death haunted me every moment of the day. I wasn't allowed to go to his funeral. My siblings didn't obey my father's shunning of me and still visited me. I never saw either of my parents until their deaths a few years later," Klaus explained. "So when Henry was born, I named him Henrik."

"It's a good name. I'm sure your brother would be happy that you named your son after him," Caroline stated.

"I think so, too," Klaus agreed.

They sat there for a few minutes before he stood up, dropping her hand as he did. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," Caroline replied, not knowing what else to say. She watched him retreat into the house and, once he was out of sight, she retrieved the forgotten ice pack and replaced it on her swollen knuckles. She just wished that all scars could be healed as easily as her battered knuckles.

**There you go guys, you found out about Klaus' tattoos as well as some more of the Mikaelson family background. Not to mention the inner workings of Klaus' mind about Caroline. And I hope the little bit about Klaus seeking female companionship didn't upset anyone. Like he said, he's not a 'man whore' but he's also a healthy youngish guy who has needs whose wife left him over 6 years ago. But he doesn't go out trolling bars every night while he leaves his kids at home. **

**As for Kol at the beginning, I almost didn't post today because of last night's episode because I thought having him in it would rub salt on our wounds but was persuaded by a few Klaroline friends (You know who you are) that it would be therapeutic for everyone to post. **

**Also, sorry for anyone who wanted to see Klaus rescue Caroline at the club. I just couldn't write that considering at the beginning of the story I mentioned how she trained in self defense. **


	22. Part 21 Parents' Night Out

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello! No, your eyes aren't deceiving you, the word count on this part is almost twice what I normally write. It just kind of came out this way. I can't guarantee that it will continue but we'll see. **

**Glad to see that everyone seemed to like the last part especially Kol being in it and Caroline being a badass. I had lots of people thanking me for having Kol in it but I must admit that he was already supposed to be in the part before 4x12 aired and we lost him. I'm sure all of you will agree that he just fit into that part. **

**As for Caroline rescuing herself, I've had a few people ask where she got the skills and if they had anything to do with the scars. Well I won't answer the second part of that but I will the first part. During her interview she mentioned that she could shoot and was trained in self defense due to her mother. I come from a family of cops and we were all raised like that, some of us just basic training and some of us like me took it to the next level. I firmly believe that Sheriff Forbes would do the same for Caroline, because in my mind the small amount of fighting skills she's shown on the show didn't just appear when she became a vampire. **

**To the guest who was having problems leaving feedback, on when you post under Guest, I get an email showing me the review but it doesn't show up for a couple of days on the story. So don't worry, I got it and I appreciate you working so hard to make sure I did! And I understand about having tons of forum accounts but is nice to have an account because you can follow or favorite stories and authors so you get emails when they are updated. But it's understandable if you don't want to. **

**I've picked up a few new readers after this last part and I want to say welcome. I love all of my readers and you guys are just great and keep me wanting to write so I don't disappoint. **

**Thanks to Becky aka a-little-blonde-distraction for betaing this. **

**Hope everyone survived the episode last night. I can give you ever detail of the Klaroline scenes but don't really know what happened on the island. **

**Okay, I'm rambling now. Here is the part:**

Part 21

"Okay guys…and Lexi," Caroline added when the blonde girl frowned at being referred to as a 'guy'. "It's quiet time now, put the cards and games away."

Her decree was met with expected groans from the four kids in front of her. "The little kids have been down for over an hour and it's getting late. I'm not saying you have to sleep but you have to at least lie down until your parents get here."

"If we aren't going to sleep and we can't play with anything, what do we do?" Connor whined, obviously not happy that he was being force to to stop having fun.

"You can read. Or if you'd like I can read something to all of you?" She suggested. When that was met with less loathing she went and retrieved her tablet and quickly found a book that she thought they might like, it had been one of her favorites when she was about their age. If they liked the book, they'd be more likely to lie down. The day had been so busy that pretty soon she knew someone would be having a meltdown.

The day had been spent exploring the island and being tourists. They had started out the day on the Atlantis Submarine, exploring what Barbados had under the water. The submarine was designed for tourist with numerous portholes, each having its own seat. The water was clear and they had seen all kinds of wild life, sea turtles, string rays and more species of fish than Caroline could count. It was absolutely breathtaking. Afterwards they went on a land tour that took them all over the island showing them various hot spots before the day ended.

Tonight had been different though, it did not end with a big family dinner, instead the adults had left all six of the Mikaelson children in Caroline's care while they went out for the evening. It had been awhile since Caroline had to take care of so many children at once, especially ones that ranged so greatly in age as the Mikaelson clan, from ages three to ten. Daniel and Sarah, Sage and Finn's youngest child and only girl, were taken with Caroline having been around her a few times; but Connor and Noah were another story. They were not rude or mean, they were actually quite well behaved; it was just that Caroline knew she was going to have to do something to 'impress' them.

Thankfully, the resort they were staying in had family activities set up outside the main building so she had trekked them all down there. Once they got there, she had been very grateful that she had. The activities they offered at the main building were just like all of the activities they would typically have at summer camp, all rolled into a few hours. Besides beach volleyball, there were hula-hoop contests, sack races, scavenger hunts, not to mention face painting and balloon animals. It was enough to make your head spin; and if you didn't want to do any of that, or if you just wanted to take a break, they had a buffet filled with kid-approved foods, both healthy and not so much, next to a movie screen that continuously projected various movies.

Caroline looked at the schedule and saw that after _Tangled_ ended _The Avengers_ was on right after. So after they had engaged in pretty much every game there was and their faces were covered in unicorns, tigers, and other things, she corralled the kids to a group of lounge chairs right in front of the big screen. There they sat and watched the movie, stuffing themselves from plates full of food. She snagged a few coloring sheets for Daniel and Sarah to keep them occupied during the beginning of the movie while she talked to the boys about who their favorite superhero was. They were impressed about her knowledge of the world of heroes, and she silently thanked Jeremy, Stefan and even Tyler for all of the times she had heard them talking about the movie and movies that came before it.

By the time the movie was over, she had won over Sage and Finn's boys and she considered the night an overall success, though at times she had felt as if she was herding cats. She had taken them back to the condo Klaus was renting to wait until their parents returned. Sarah and Daniel were exhausted and fell asleep pretty quickly once she put them in the twins' beds while keeping the bigger kids busy playing card and video games. Now it was getting late and time for them to start calming down. Caroline took a seat in the middle of the large U-shaped couch, while the kids found spots around her or on the floor on top of blankets.

Caroline had just finished reading about Lucy's first trip through the wardrobe when she heard a knock at the front door. She gently lifted Lexi's head from her lap before rising to answer it. She was a little surprised since she'd figured that Klaus would have just let everyone in, but quickly brushed the thought aside as she opened the door. She was surprised when Sage, Katherine, Finn, and Elijah came through without Klaus.

"Well you haven't pulled your hair out, so I hope that means that they were good?" Sage asked.

"Yes, they were very well behaved." Caroline replied. "The little kids are back in the twins' bedroom."

"And that's a very diplomatic answer." Sage replied as she eyed her sons while their father went to retrieve their sister. Both of them looked back at their mother with a look of disbelief, as if they could not believe that she didn't trust that Caroline was being truthful. It's not as if they really got into trouble… Well any _real_ trouble, they did have Mikaelson blood in them.

"No, seriously, they were very good! We had a fun night. We played games and won prizes, and pigged out on food." She assured the red head. "I was just reading to the older kids, Sarah and Daniel went down after we got back. They were exhausted; they played hard so they are a bit of a mess."

Finn came back out then with a sleeping Sarah lying in his arms, her face paint smudged and her hair in disarray, which just proved what Caroline had been saying and Sage couldn't help but laugh at her daughter. She ushered her boys out and opened the door for her husband before saying good-bye and another thank you to Caroline.

Once they were gone, Caroline turned to see Katherine talking to Lexi and Henry about their night, and she assumed that Elijah was gathering Daniel. When the brunette ended the conversation with the twins, Caroline addressed her. "Did you guys have a good time?"

"Yes, it was nice. The restaurant was wonderful, and as much as I love my son and my nieces and nephews, it was lovely to have a dinner with just the adults… well, and Kol." Caroline chuckled a little at Katherine's statement of the younger Mikaelson sibling.

Katherine could see that Caroline wanted to ask her something, but was hesitating to ask, and she had a feeling she knew what it was. "Nik is still out; he wanted me to tell you that he's not sure when he'll be back."

After checking to make sure the twins were still engaged in the tablet that Caroline had been reading from and watching the blonde in front of her closely, Katherine continued. "Kol being Kol picked up a woman at the club we were at but she had a friend that she didn't want to leave/to feel like a third wheel. . So he begged Nik to stay, to keep her company."

"Oh..." Caroline replied surprised at the news: Klaus was at a club… with a woman_._ She felt a slight tightening in her chest and her cheeks flushing red. She swallowed the lump in her throat before nodding. "Um…okay. Thanks for letting me know. I won't keep the twins up then."

Katherine could see the flash of emotion in Caroline's eyes before she looked away and towards Elijah as he came back from the bedroom with Daniel draped over his shoulder. "You have our gratitude Caroline."

She smiled and nodded. "Are you guys joining us tomorrow at the Wildlife sanctuary?"

"No, we are declining the invitation. I am taking my wife to Limegrove Lifestyle Centre in St. James to shop; however, we will be back to join the rest of the family for New Years." Elijah stated.

"I can't believe that it's New Year's Eve tomorrow. Only a few more days of vacation left, and from what Klaus was telling me earlier, they are going to be busy ones." Caroline exclaimed. "Lexi and Henry are excited about going to Animal Flower Cave, but I'm not real sure about it."

"Elijah wanted to take Daniel, but since trekking around a cave 'isn't the best thing for his pregnant wife,' he has decided against it… Although I told him that I will be fine at the condo on my own." Katherine let out with a huff.

"Katherine…now is not the time to renew this argument."

"I only bring it up because Caroline said that she wasn't sure about the cave and I am not going, so maybe we could just stay here, have some girl time while you take Daniel. That is if she agrees to it?" Katherine asked as she looked at the blonde. [

Caroline thought it was a pretty good idea. She wasn't necessarily a hiking kind of girl and that was kind of what the trip to the cave was going to be. "Sure, I'm fine with it."

"Then I'll call tomorrow and see about getting us appointments at the spa." Katherine replied with a nod.

Caroline opened her mouth to argue, because she hadn't planned on going to the spa. In a place like this, she doubted she could afford a basic session, let alone whatever treatments Katherine had in mind. However, before she could think to say anything, the brunette swept over to the twins, said her goodbyes to her niece and nephew and led her husband carrying their sleeping son out the front door, calling goodbye as they left. Shaking her head to herself, she turned back to the kids. "Lexi, Henry time for bed. Go get your pajamas on and brush your teeth. I'll be in in a minute to say good night."

"Will you read us some more from the book?" Lexi asked. "I want to know what happens when Lucy tells her siblings about Mr. Tumnus."

"Yeah," She answered with a nod and smile, "But only if you are in bed and ready when I get in there."

The two of them knew she was serious and quickly got up before they scampered towards their rooms.

"Don't forget your teeth!" Caroline called after them as she began to move around the room, picking up and cleaning as she went. All of the Mikaelson kids had been good about cleaning up after themselves but in the sudden rush to go when their parents arrived, some things had been left out.

After giving the kids enough time to accomplish their bedtime tasks, she grabbed the tablet and headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms. She heard the kids talking and giggling about something but when she walked in, they were settled into their beds in their pajamas waiting for her. "Lexi, we need to put your hair back up or you're going to wake up with a bunch of knots and tangles in it."

Caroline moved over to the twins' bathroom quickly, not catching the panicked look that passed between the kids. "Caroline!"

"Just a minute Henry." Caroline replied as she flipped on the light, and walked over to the sink where she saw Lexi's hairbrush lying. Then she screamed.

The twins came scrambled out of their beds and came running when they heard the scream. They saw Caroline standing in front of the sink, looking surprised as well as furious. She turned towards the twins when she heard them enter and pointed at the sink. "Seriously guys? Crabs? You're keeping crabs in here?"

"Sand crabs." Henry corrected innocently. "I found them out on the beach earlier. Dad said I couldn't buy the hermit crabs we saw earlier, but he didn't say I couldn't keep any that I find."

"We just put them in the sink with some sand and they eat what's in the sand." Lexi explained. "That's what Henry said. We named that one Mr. Crab and the other one is named Sandy."

"Guys, you can't keep them." Caroline told them.

"Why not?" Henry asked.

"Well for one, the people at the airport are not going to let you take them off the island, and two, your dad said no to the hermit crab because you already have a pet dragon at home, Henry."

"I can take care of more than one pet!" Henry argued.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you can't keep them." Caroline declared. "We going to take them back out tomorrow and release them."

"Fine." Henry huffed before stomping out of the room. Lexi just shook her head at him and whispered, "I told him Daddy and you wouldn't let us keep them, but he told me to be quiet."

Caroline just snickered at the little girl's remark and nodded in empathy before she lead the girl back out to the bedroom. Caroline quickly brushed Lexi's hair up into a ponytail before Henry was in his bed, but turned away and acting like he was sleeping. She knew he was mad that he couldn't keep the crabs and wanted to make sure that everyone knew it. She left him alone but made sure that he could hear her as she read another chapter in the book. Lexi was half-asleep by the time she was done and she could see Henry's back moving up and down steadily and figured he was asleep too. She shut off the light and closed the door.

She walked back out into the living room and picked up the few things that she had missed during her first sweep. Once she was done, she stood there for a minute trying to decide what to do. Her thoughts went to Klaus and wondered when he might be home. Katherine had not said when he'd be back, but Caroline was sure it would be awhile. When guys bought women drinks at bars, it wasn't usually just a quick drink. Typically when guys bought women drinks like this, it was for other reasons. Reasons that she suddenly didn't feel very comfortable thinking about. It was exactly for those reasons that she thought to go and take advantage of the large tub in her bathroom so she could relax and clear her mind.

The tub filled up quickly and it wasn't long before Caroline was soaking in the warm, soothing water. However, the tub did not seem to be relaxing her like she thought, and her mind kept drifting to Klaus. The thought of him being at a bar with some random woman was just such a foreign concept to her. She was suddenly very curious about what the woman he was with looked like. She would have to be attractive; having met Katherine and knowing that Tatia looked just like her, she knew he was used to being with gorgeous women. Caroline wondered if the woman was a brunette, or if he would try to shun the reminder of his ex-wife and pick a redhead instead…or maybe a blonde?

She shook her head quickly as she pushed the thought of him with a blonde away. It just felt weird to think that; and maybe that was because she couldn't help herself picturing herself as that blonde. She figured that had to be natural, since the only other blondes in his life were the ones he was related to. She tried to picture him with one of the blonde women she'd seen around the resort, but she found the thought nauseating. Most of the single woman she had seen didn't seem like the kind of woman Klaus would be around: they looked very fake; they were out at the pool or on the beach in swimsuits that were for show than not function; and finally, judging from their hair and makeup, she was pretty sure they were there to hunt, not swim. Rebekah had pointed out a couple of them at the club last night and said that they were gold diggers who were looking to latch on to a guy. The thought of one of those women hanging all over him turned her feelings from nauseated to angry.

Caroline paused in mid-motion as she ran the loofa over her leg when the anger hit her. Why was she so angry at that image? She was acting like she saw some tramp coming onto her boyfriend, as if she was jealous, or something. That was silly, she couldn't be jealous; Klaus wasn't even hers. No, she was just concerned for the kids and the thought of what it would do to them to be around one of those women. Of course she knew that wouldn't happen either. Klaus didn't date. He might be spending time with some random woman he met in a bar, but that didn't mean he was going to be bringing introducing her to his children. If anything, he would probably just sleep with her.

"Stop it, Caroline!" She scolded herself shutting her eyes as if that could block the image of Klaus and some unknown woman from her mind. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She quickly pulled the stopper out of the tub and got up to dry off, but she realized then that she has left her pajamas in her room. She wrapped the small bath towel around her, securing it around her breasts, and set out to get her clothes. She swung open the door and hurried out, barreling right into something hard, which knocked her backwards. "Son of a bitch!"

Klaus reached out and grabbed ahold of Caroline as she fell backwards and pulled her upright. As he did, he pulled her flush up against him. He saw fear in her blue eyes before she realized it was just him. "Sorry love, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Well what the hell did you think would happen if you snuck into my bedroom?" Caroline snapped, her reply a little harsher than she intended.

"I wasn't stealing my way in here like a thief in the night; I came looking for you to let you know I had returned. When you didn't answer my knock, I came in to find you. _You_ ran into _me_." Klaus barked back.

"Sorry, you just scared the shit out of me. I just wasn't expecting you to be in my room." She apologized and explained. Realizing the position they were in, Caroline moved to step back but found he still had his hands wrapped around her upper arms. Like the other day on the beach, they felt unbelievably warm against her skin, even though she had just stepped out of a hot bath, and she could swear she felt tingles traveling across her skin.

"Obviously." Klaus said as he looked down at her state of dress, or at least what he could see with her pressed against him. She was wore only a small towel, one that left little to the imagination, and her skin was flushed a pale pink. He didn't know if it was pink from the heat of the water she had just got out of, embarrassment or something else entirely. He felt a jolt of arousal shoot through him and he released her quickly before his body completely betrayed him. "Well as I said, I wanted to make you aware that I had returned. I'll let you get to bed."

Caroline watched as he turned on his heel and started to leave before she spoke up. "Um, can you wait a minute? I wanted to tell you a couple of things. Can you let me get changed?"

He turned to look at her, eyebrow raised in question. "Did something happen with the twins?"

"Yes, I mean no. They are fine." Caroline answered quickly. She grabbed her clothes off of her bed before rushing to the bathroom, calling over her shoulder as she shut the door, "Just give me a minute."

Klaus lingered in his spot not far from the doorway as he waited for her to change, doing his best not to think about her lack of clothing on the other side of the door. He only had to wait a few minutes before she returned, although he wasn't sure that the tank top and shorts she now wore was any better than the towel.

"Sorry about that." She smiled at him in apology. "Anyways, the twins are fine but your son decided that he was going to take some of the local wildlife with him home as souvenirs."

Klaus closed his eyes and brought his thumb and finger up to the bridge of his nose, not surprised. "Do I even want to know what?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing too big, like a sea turtle or anything. Just a couple of crabs, I found them in the twins' sink. I explained to him that the island officials won't let him take them out of here and that he already has a pet at home, but he was pretty upset. Just wanted to warn you."

"I appreciate that."

"Also, I talked to Katherine and Elijah earlier, and I'm going to spend the last day with Katherine here at the resort so that Elijah can take Daniel to the caves with you." Caroline explained. She laughed when she saw his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "What? Katherine and I have kind of become friends, and neither one of us really wanted to go so it works out. She mentioned something about going to the spa, but I'm going to see if I can talk her down a little bit on that."

"Why? Don't most women love spending a few hours at the spa?" Klaus asked before he realized what might be holding her back. "If money is an issue, just charge it to me."

"I couldn't do that. You've already paid for everything on this trip." She argued.

"Nonsense, I pay for the expenses on any trip I ask my employees to take with us." He reasoned. "Please consider it a belated Christmas present. The children really wanted to get you something, but I wasn't sure what you might want so this works out perfectly."

She opened her mouth to argue, but could see from his expression that there was no arguing. "Fine."

"Good." Klaus replied with a dimpled smirk. "Anything else?"

"Um, no that was it." Caroline answered. She couldn't help but look over him then for any signs of what he might have been up to. No swollen lips, or mused hair and he hadn't smelled of perfume when she was against him. "Did you have a good time? I mean, Katherine said you and Kol had…met a couple of people."

Klaus tried not to shudder as he recalled the woman with whom he had the misfortune of spending the last uncomfortable hour, along with his horny younger brother and another equally interesting prospect. "Not really. Let's just say that my brother and I have very different tastes and that he owes me greatly."

"Oh, sorry that it turned out so crappy." She replied. She was shocked to realize she'd felt a small amount of relief at his words, but quickly pushed it away and ignored it.

"I'm not." Klaus commented with a shrug, noting the small smile that came across her face at his answer. He returned her smile with a smirk before nodding. "Good night Caroline."

"Night…." Caroline called and he disappeared out her door.

**Well?...**

**Next part will skip ahead a few days to when Caroline spends the day with Katherine at the spa. I need to start getting this vacation wrapped up and them back to Boston. Hopefully I will post next Friday. I've had a crazy few days and then woke up sick today so we'll see. **

**Thanks for reading.**


	23. Part 22 Girl Time

**Hello my lovelies, surprised to see me? I wanted to post today so that you guys don't have to wait a whole two weeks between parts. I will not post this coming Friday, but plan to the following one.**

**I wanted to thank all of you for the get well wishes and for being patient with me. I don't get sick often, I think the last time I did was about six years ago so when it hits me, it really hits me. That combined with the fact that the drugs I was taking was making me a bit dazed and confused, writing just wasn't an option for me. So I'm back with another long part for you, or at least long for me**.

Part 22

"I feel like a new woman; my body is all relaxed and jelly like," Caroline practically moaned as she and Katherine walked out of the spa.

Laughing slightly at Caroline's statement, Katherine said, "You sound like you've just had a great bout of sex for three hours instead of just being at a spa."

"Katherine!" Caroline exclaimed in surprise but burst out laughing. "Oh, that was better than sex."

"Then you obviously haven't been doing it right," the brunette retorted as they walked along the beach towards their temporary homes.

"More like I don't remember," she muttered although Katherine still heard her, and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "It's ah…been awhile."

"Maybe you should have asked one of the good-looking male masseurs for a more intimate massage," Katherine replied with a saucy grin.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Caroline said with a roll of the eyes. "Stop trying to be cute."

"Not possible," Katherine replied with a shake of her head.

"On to other subjects. What do you want to do until everyone gets back? We've shopped, had lunch, hit the spa…" Caroline asked as they neared their condos. She was kind of hoping that whatever the other woman wanted to do wouldn't be too active, she was kind of looking to just relax. After the eventful week they had had and then all the pampering in the spa, she didn't know how lively she could be.

"I was thinking about just trying to soak up as much sun as possible before heading back to frigid Boston tomorrow. So go get on a bikini and meet me back out here," Katherine instructed. When she saw Caroline's mouth open as if to argue, she cut her off. "I won't take no for an answer; I know you had to have brought one with you just in case. Well, it's time to bring it out. It will just be the two of us; Nik isn't here and neither are the twins so you don't have to worry about breaking some nanny code that says you can't be showing skin around them."

Caroline found that she couldn't disagree with her. She had indeed brought a bikini on the remote chance that she would be at the beach or something by herself, and the others weren't expected back for a few more hours. It couldn't hurt to put it on but she wasn't going to let Katherine know she was agreeing so easily. She folded her arms across her chest as if she wasn't happy with being ordered around before answering her. "Fine."

Katherine smiled triumphantly at her, before turning and continuing on so she could change as well. "Ten minutes or you will feel the wrath of a pregnant woman!"

Shaking her head and laughing at Katherine's threat, Caroline made her way into the condo that would only be occupying for one more day. They were heading home tomorrow, something that made her a bit sad. She missed her friends and her life there but she would also miss the bubble she'd been living on while on vacation.

They had spent New Year's Eve at the Wildlife sanctuary then ended the year at Sage and Finn's condo on their terrace. There was a large fire pit where they had roasted hot dogs and marshmallows before watching the midnight fireworks display on the beach. Caroline had gotten New Year's hugs from all of the kids and punched Kol on the shoulder when he teased about trying to give her a kiss but was too scared. She wasn't sure if it was of her or his brother who had been sitting next to her at the time and glaring threateningly at him.

They had slept in on New Year's Day before taking off to explore some of Holetown, where they had shopped and ate as well as visited the marine park that they had there. The kids, especially Henry, had had a blast. The twins had been disappointed this morning at breakfast when she had told them she wasn't going with them and she had felt kind of guilty, but Klaus assured her that they would be fine once they got there. She had been enjoying all of the activities with them but it was nice to have grown up time today as well.

Caroline had finished shopping for souvenirs for her friends the day but had bought herself a few more things that she couldn't live without at a boutique that Katherine had drug her into before they had a light lunch at an outdoor restaurant. By the time they got to the spa, she was ready to be pampered.

Caroline quickly found the bikini and shrugged out of her clothes. Once she was redressed, she tied her hair up in a ponytail, grabbed a towel and headed outside. She was the first one to reach the spot of beach between the condos that Katherine had designated for them. The chairs were already there so she plopped her stuff down on it and set about putting on some sunscreen. When she reached her back, her fingers ran over the scarred skin and found herself pausing. Klaus must have noticed them when he was helped her with the sun block. They were scattered all over her torso and back. Her other suit might have covered the front but he would have seen the ones on her back. She had lived them for years, rarely even thought about them, but she suddenly felt awkward about them. He hadn't said anything about them and she was curious as to why.

"Earth to Caroline," she heard Katherine saying to her left. Caroline looked over and saw the other woman approaching and it was obvious that she had called her name at least once.

"Sorry, I was just somewhere else."

"Obviously," Katherine responded as she set her stuff down and then took her seat. She smiled knowingly before saying, "I see you followed my instructions."

"As if I had a choice; no one wants to piss off a pregnant woman," Caroline retorted.

"Especially this one," Katherine said with a smug smile. As she started applying her own sun tan lotion, she looked over casually at Caroline. After setting what looked like a timer on her phone, she reclined in her beach chair with her sunglasses on, soaking up the sun. As Katherine looked at her, she couldn't help but notice the marks along her abdomen. "Jesus Caroline, it looks like you wrestled a cheese grater."

Caroline's head shot up from her chair in surprise at the acknowledgement of her blemishes on her skin. Most people weren't so blunt when they brought them up, of course one thing she had learned in the few months she knew Katherine was that she blunt. "They're nothing."

"They don't look like nothing. Who did that to you?"

She started to ask why she instantly thought that someone had done something to her, did she look like a victim when she remembered Klaus's scars and realized why she might have thought about that. "They're from an accident I had when I was a teenager."

"Most women I know would be self-conscious about it."

"Yeah, well I don't know a lot of women who wear a bikini when they are five months pregnant so I guess we're even," she replied. "They are from a long time ago, most of the time I don't realize that they are there. If people don't want to see them, then they don't have to look."

Katherine's face broke out into a huge smile. "I like you more and more Caroline."

Caroline shook her head in astonishment. She liked Katherine but the woman could give you whiplash at times. Despite that, you always knew where you stood with her and could rely on her to give you an honest answer when you asked her something and there was something that had been bugging her for the last couple of days. "Can I ask you something?"

"I believe you just did."

"You know what I mean."

"Just ask me, Caroline."

"Klaus and Elijah's parents, did you ever meet them?"

"Unfortunately," Katherine answered. "Why?"

"Curiosity," Caroline replied. "Klaus told me that they disowned him after Henrik died."

She watched as the other woman's eyebrows shot up in surprise before she spoke. "He told you about Henrik?"

The blonde nodded hesitantly. "I asked him how the twins were named and he told me about his brother and the accident."

Katherine was silent, not something Caroline was used to, as she thought over what exactly to say. "I met Elijah and Klaus about six months before Henrik was killed. Elijah and I started dating shortly after we met and he took me home to visit his parents over Christmas. They were…polite, at least at first. Mikael didn't seem to approve of me until he found out that my parents had left Tatia and I quite a bit of money. Then he was much more welcoming."

A devilish smile bloomed on the brunette's face. "When Elijah and I got married, we knew that his parents would make a huge fuss about Nik coming to the wedding. But we were determined that he and Tatia be there. So we eloped, only telling his siblings. Mikael was beyond pissed when we got back but it didn't matter. We were married and there was nothing he could do about how or who we invited."

"Wow."

"Elijah felt guilty when they were killed just over a year later but I didn't. They hated Nik for something that was not his fault, something that could have happened if Henrik had been with anyone in the family," Katherine declared.

"What happened to them?"

"Mikael's anger and cruelness was not limited to just his family," Katherine answered. "Around nine years ago, they were shot and killed by an employee of his that he fired. There were rumors that the guy was fired after he found proof that Mikael had been embezzling funds from his company but it was never proven."

"Why did he kill their mother? I mean, if Mikael was the one to blame…"

"The gunman said it was an accident. There was a struggle and when Mikael tried to grab the gun from him, it went off and shot Esther. Then the guy shot Mikael and fled," Katherine finished.

"That must have been hard, on all of them," Caroline remarked.

"It was. Despite the rocky relationship, they were their parents," Katherine declared.

Caroline noticed an odd look come over Katherine's face during the last bit of her sentence. She was about to ask about it when the other woman spoke. "Now I have a question for you."

"Okay."

"What is going on between you and my brother-in-law?" Katherine asked. She watched as Caroline's mouth dropped widened at her question and knew what the other woman would say automatically. This wasn't the first time they had spoken about this subject. "I'm not attacking you. I know I acted like a raving protective bitch the first time we met but not this time. This time I'm genuinely curious. There's more to you two than boss and nanny."

Caroline considered Katherine before she spoke. She could see that she wasn't being mean or meddlesome like that first meeting. She was genuinely curious. "There is nothing going on between us, nothing but friendship."

"Are you sure that is all?"

"Why are you so sure that it's something more?" Caroline asked. "Why can't we just be friends?"

"No one said you can't. You live together, raising my niece and nephew so you should be friends," Katherine replied. "But I think there is more.

"I see the two of you together," Katherine continued. "And while I think you are just friends now, I don't believe that friendship is all there is between the two of you."

Taking in the other woman's words, Caroline wasn't sure how to reply. She wanted to argue, the sensible rational side of her brain wanted to say that Katherine was wrong, but she didn't. Instead, she just gave a simple answer. "Friendship is all there can be."

Not wanting to continue the conversation, Caroline laid her head back, removed her sunglasses and closed her eyes. She just wanted to doze until the timer on her phone went off.

/

*Beep Beep*

Caroline bolted upright in her lounger as the alarm on her phone blared. She grabbed it quickly and shut it off, before looking around. Katherine was still in her chair next to her, her eyes closed as well. After her nap, Caroline was feeling parched. Unfortunately, the small amount of water she had in her bottle wasn't enough to sustain her thirst. "I'll be back. I need some more water."

She heard a distant acknowledgment from Katherine as she stood and headed towards her condo. She had left the back door unlocked thankfully so she quickly slid in and headed towards the kitchen. The tile floor was cold on her feet after the heated sand and felt a chill go up her spine. She quickly made her way to the fridge and got a bottle of water.

Caroline shut the fridge door and jumped when she saw someone on the other side of it. "Klaus?! You scared the hell out of me. I didn't realize you guys were back."

She watched as a smirk formed on his mouth, he was obviously enjoying the fact that he had scared her. "I just walked in."

It was then that she saw his eyes drop below her face, taking in what or more accurately what little she was wearing. She could be wrong but it looked like his eyes had darkened a bit as he looked her over. She wrapped her arms around herself to try and show a little modesty. "Um, where are the kids?"

"They are with Sage and Finn. They were headed to the pool for a little while." Klaus replied as he moved towards her. His eyes continued scan her up and down, his smirk turning into a wolfish smile. "You look ravishing in that suit."

"Uh, thanks," Caroline responded awkwardly. She wasn't sure what was going with him, he was acting different. She backed up but couldn't go far since the counter was right behind her. She was pinned between the hard counter and his quickly approaching body. His eyes locked on hers and this time she was sure that she saw them filled with lust. Lust for her. She could feel her own body heating up with desire at the thought.

He stopped when he was barely an inch away from her, so close that she thought if she took a deep breath their chests would touch. His hand came then and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips brushing lightly against her cheek and she had to stop herself from turning towards into it. She didn't know what was going on but she knew she should stop it.

However, before Caroline got the chance Klaus tangled his hand into her hair and yanked her forward. The momentum sent her towards him and crushed her lips to his. His mouth molded over hers forcefully, parting her lips with the thrust of his tongue as he ravished her mouth with his. Caroline did not fight him, she didn't want to. The kiss was full of hunger and need. All the sexual tension between the two of them that had built up over the time they had known each other fueled the kiss. Her hands trailed up his arms and encircled his neck, as she put all of her energy in the kiss.

His arms moved around her, to press her body fully against him. His hands had drifted to her hips, and down to her ass. He squeezed her before lifting her up. Her legs came up and wrapped around him. She pressed her body more fully to his, and heard him groan as her hips moved against his, his hands moving around her back to pull her closer to him. Klaus's mouth moved from hers to her neck, licking, biting, sucking at the flesh that he found, making her head lean back against the cabinet, gasps and moans coming from her. "Klaus…"

"Caroline," she heard him call. "Sweatheart, we're home."

Caroline's head snapped up at his statement, she looked down to see him starring back at her. "What?"

"Caroline, wake up."

Caroline's eyes snapped open and felt momentarily confused when she saw the interior of an airplane in front of her. She turned her head in the direction of the voice that was calling her and saw Klaus in the seat next to her. He smiled at her before saying, "Are you okay?"

Then it all came back to her, the vacation was over and they were on the plane trip back to Boston, not in the kitchen of the condo. "Um yeah. I'm fine."

"The pilot just announced that we are making our descent. Thought you might want a few minutes to wake up."

"Yeah, thanks," Caroline replied, her eyes drifting to his lips. She had been dreaming, dreaming of something that hadn't really happened. The day before, she had fallen asleep on the beach and everything up until she had gone for the water had occurred. When she had returned Katherine was just getting off the phone with Elijah with the news that they were on their way back. They had had one last family dinner before packing and getting ready to travel the next day. Klaus had not been inside, there had been no kissing, no anything.

Caroline felt her cheeks redden as she remembered the dream, what had happened between them. It felt so real, she swore that if she touched her lips right now they would be swollen from his kiss. She also felt herself starting to freak out. She had no idea where the dream had come from. Okay, maybe she did a little. She was physically attracted to him, she didn't deny that. But in that dream, she had felt something more than desire, something more than lust. Something that she had been ignoring because it was a not something she had the freedom to explore. She was developing something for Klaus, her boss.

'Nononono,' Caroline scolded herself. She could not be doing this, she could not be falling for him. She was only able to think on it for a few moments before the plane was on the ground and she busied herself with gathering her stuff and helping the twins do the same. She tried her best not to brush up against Klaus but, considering he was sitting next to her, it was hard to avoid him such close quarters, first class or not. Once they got off the plane, she stayed behind him and walked with Lexi as they retrieved the luggage. She did everything she could not to stare at the way his jeans hung around his hips or the flash of skin of his back that she saw when he reached over to help Henry with something.

As they exited the airport, Caroline shivered from the shock of cold air. Luckily, Dean was waiting for them nearby with Klaus' SUV. He nodded to Klaus before he reached out to take some of the luggage from her and Lexi. "Glad to be back?"

"Glad to be home, though I could do with better weather," Caroline replied.

Dean grinned at her and chuckled. "Well, your smile is warmer than any sunny beach."

"Um, thanks," Caroline replied stunned by the obvious flirt.

Dean turned away from her then as he moved to load their luggage into the trunk. She spent the trip sitting in the back listening to the kids relay all of the details of the trip to Dean while trying to figure out what she should do about the epiphany she had on the plane. She thought back to the conversation she had had with Bonnie and Elena at Thanksgiving about getting out and dating again. Maybe that was her problem. She was projecting her loneliness from not having some kind of romantic attachment onto her relationship with Klaus.

Before she knew it, they had reached the house and Caroline was very relieved to see it. Dean quickly parked in front of the house and they got out. The twins tried to escape without helping but their father quickly halted their plans. After double checking to make sure she had gotten all of her stuff, she shut her door to head inside when she found Dean standing in front of her. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier."

"You didn't, I just was just surprised," Caroline replied.

"Good, I'm glad that I didn't come off as creepy or anything," Dean stated. "Because I wanted to ask if you might want to go out some time?"

Caroline was sure that her eyebrows had to be almost to her hairline as the shock of his question registered. "You want to go out?"

"Yes, I know it might seem odd, but I thought just something small like coffee," Dean suggested.

Movement from the doorway of the house caught Caroline's attention and she saw Klaus observing them. She thought she saw something a kin to suspicion on his face but before she could think harder on it, he called inside and disappeared into the house. She turned her attention back to Dean. "Um, sure. Coffee sounds nice. When?"

"Can I call you? Things are going to be crazy the next few weeks at work so I don't know when I might be able to take you but I didn't want to miss this chance to ask you."

"Give me your phone," Caroline ordered. When he handed it to her, she quickly typed in her number and saved it. "My schedule isn't the most regular either so call or text me when you can and we'll see about having that coffee."

Dean smiled widely when she handed him back his phone. "Then hopefully I'll be seeing you soon."

Caroline nodded before walking away and towards the house. This is what she needed, a date with a nice normal good looking guy who wasn't her boss. Yes, this would work perfectly.

**Okay guys, I'm going to go run and hide now.**

**Seriously though what did you guys think of the part? You got to find out a little about Caroline's scars but remember; I never give out the whole story at once, as well as what happened to Mikael and Esther. And you got a Klaroline kiss, okay so it wasn't real but still you got a look into Caroline's smutty dreams. And a little competition for Caroline's affections? **

**I hope you guys aren't getting too frustrated with these two, I will say that I don't plan to show a lot of them with other people, so you don't have to worry about that. **


	24. Part 23 Sick Day

**Here is the new part guys, I hope you enjoy it.**

**It seems like it's been forever since I posted but I hope you guys don't feel like that. I am planning to update next week if possible, yesterday was my baby's birthday (Okay, he's not a baby, he's 8) and I am in full Birthday Party mode this weekend so no writing will probably get done. But I have a week so we'll see. **

**Just to clear the Dean in this story is the hybrid Dean who appeared in Season 4's episode The Killer. He was only on screen for a couple of minutes before Connor killed him. Several people thought I might mean Dean from Supernatural who I love but that isn't who I'm picturing for this. Feel free to if you want to, but it might make things confusing later. **

**Egolust92-You asked me about a story idea I wrote about on here, I haven't written it yet. This story is taking up all of my time but I hope to write it eventually. We all need more Klaroline ;)**

***Disclaimer: The song in this part is not mine***

Part 23

Over the years, many people had asked Caroline how she could do her job, to take care of other people's kids. But Caroline loved her job, she loved being a nanny. To spend time surrounded by children, helping and watching them grow up was supremely satisfying to her; it filled an emptiness inside her.

But there were parts of that she didn't like. Well, one part actually, and that was when the kids got sick. It wasn't just the icky-ness of it that made Caroline dislike it. Sure, she could do without the snot, the little sweaty clammy bodies and she would definitely choose not to deal with any puking, but they weren't the worse things that she dealt with when her charges were sick. No, the worst thing was to see the look of misery on their faces and knowing that she couldn't take the pain away, that the only thing she could do was make them comfortable as she nursed them back to health.

Henry had come down with the flu two days before, with Lexi following him the day after. Neither she nor Klaus had been completely surprised; there had been reports sent home regarding an outbreak of flu cases the first week after school had been back in session, but they had been able to avoid it for a few weeks. But that was not the case anymore.

After a couple of days spent bundled up on the couches in the living room, watching TV in between naps and trips to the bathroom, their fevers had finally broken. Once she talked to Klaus and let him know, they had decided that the twins should be ready to go back to school the next day.

Once it was apparent that the twins were on the mend, Caroline had completely stripped and washed the sheets on their beds as well as made sure that they got their baths to wash away the residual stickiness from their fevers. By the time she was finished, it was bedtime and since Klaus was stuck working late, she had put Lexi to bed then Henry. Henry had begged her to read a few more pages in his book, which she had obliged. He'd been asleep before she finished. As she stood outside the little boy's door, exhaustion hit her like a tidal wave. Despite the fact that she wanted nothing more than to go to her room or at least downstairs to the sofas, she peeked her head in to make sure that Lexi was fast asleep like her brother. She wasn't.

"Is Daddy home yet?" Lexi asked hopefully.

"No sweetie, I'm sorry," Caroline replied, as she moved into the room. "Is that why you are still up?"

When Lexi nodded, Caroline went on. "I don't know when he'll be home; he's really busy at work. I can tell him to come in and give you a kiss when he gets home, but you need to get some sleep."

"I'm not tired," Lexi replied, just as she started to yawn.

"Well, maybe not, but you are going back to school tomorrow and you need your rest," Caroline stated, trying not to laugh at Lexi's statement that she wasn't tired. She knew that the little girl was drained but really wanted to see her dad. According to Klaus, he normally tried to stay home with the kids when they were sick or at the very least work from home but some issues at the office had kept him from doing so. Caroline had assured him that she could take care of them and had kept him updated as to their status the entire time. "Sorry you've been stuck with just me."

"That's okay; I like being stuck with you. I just like it better if Daddy is here, too," Lexi replied.

"I liked having my dad around when I was your age and sick too," Caroline admitted.

"Didn't your mom take care of you?" Lexi asked.

Caroline shook her head. "No, my mom was a Sheriff so she worked a lot. My dad would stay home whenever I got sick."

"My friends' moms stay home with them when they are sick," Lexi said. "I don't know if mine ever did that, I don't have any memories of my mom."

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Caroline replied, not sure of what else to say but felt hatred towards Tatia bubbling up again. How a woman could give up her children was beyond her. Kids were to be treasured, not discarded like a toy you didn't want to play with anymore.

"What is your mom like?" Lexi asked. "You said she is a Sheriff so does she have a gun and go after bad guys?"

Caroline nodded. "Sometimes. There aren't a lot of bad guys in MysticFalls, nothing bad ever happens there."

"Did she make stuff for you? Or for school stuff like plays? My friend Bree's mom makes costumes for our school play."

"No, my mom doesn't sew. We always bought my costumes when I sang," Caroline replied. She could tell that Lexi had an idolized view of what mothers did, even though she had her aunts as real life models.

"I like it when you sing," Lexi commented, sometimes when she was cooking or doing stuff around the house Caroline would play music and sing along. "Will you sing now?"

"Lexi, you need to be going to sleep."

"Please," the little girl begged. "Sing me a lullaby."

Caroline was a little taken aback at the request. But she didn't think she'd be able to get by with rejecting Lexi's wish, plus it might help get her to sleep. Problem was she didn't know many lullabies. "Okay, but lay back and close your eyes."

Lexi did what she was told and as soon as she was set, Caroline cleared her throat and sung the first song she could think of.

_Rest your head close to my heart  
Never to part, baby of mine  
Little one when you play  
Don't you mind what you say  
Let those eyes sparkle and shine  
Never a tear, baby of mine  
If they knew sweet little you  
They'd end up loving you too  
All those same people who scold you  
What they'd give just for  
The right to hold you  
From your head to your toes  
You're not much, goodness knows  
But you're so precious to me  
Cute as can be, baby of mine_

By the last note, Lexi was indeed asleep and Caroline was grateful. She slid off of her spot on the bed and crept out of the room. She eased the door shut and turned around, jumping when she saw Klaus leaning against the wall. She was very thankful that she hadn't screamed. "I didn't realize you were home."

"I haven't been for long," Klaus answered. "I came up to see if the twins were in bed yet and found Henry asleep, so I came to see Lexi."

"You should have come in; she wanted to see you."

"I didn't want to interrupt," Klaus replied. "I didn't know you could sing."

"I don't, not like in band or anything. When I was growing up, I sang in the church choir and later in recitals and stuff. Now I only sing to the radio or in the shower," Caroline explained, mentally kicking herself for mentioning the shower; she should not have said that.

Ever since they returned from vacation and she had had her little epiphany about her feelings towards her boss, she had done what she could to put me some distance between them, trying to not hang around after Klaus returned home in the evenings and making herself scarce on the weekends but it was not easy. Caroline hadn't realized how much time she spent with them until she was trying not to. She still felt herself slipping a lot, falling back into the familiar comfortable pattern she had been in before they went to Barbados. But she had to keep herself focused. She had spoken to Dean a few times on the phone and they had exchanged texts but the packed schedule of the art restoration department at the Originals hindered any possibility of them going out for coffee yet.

"The twins caught me singing one time when I was cleaning and liked it."

"No doubt; you have a beautiful voice," Klaus stated. He had been surprised when he had heard his daughter ask the nanny to sing her to sleep but not as surprised as when he heard the beautiful voice crooning out the lullaby. It was strong and a little smoky, not at all like the teenage pop stars that he had heard coming from Lexi's room. "What was it you were singing? I didn't recognize it."

Caroline couldn't help but blush as she answered. "It's Baby Mine. It's not really a lullaby; it is a song from Dumbo. It just kind of popped into my head."

"It is fitting somewhat, after the talk you were having with Lexi."

"She hasn't talked about her mother before so I wasn't sure what to say to her, I hope that it was okay," Caroline asked.

"You handled it well, probably better than I could," Klaus confessed. He ran his hand over his face in frustration and wariness. "I know that she really both of them feel the absence even if they don't remember her. They see their cousins and their friends with their mothers and yearn for the same thing. Katherine, Sage, and Rebekah try to fill the void but they cannot. And as they get older, that void is going to affect them more and more, especially Lexi."

"Because most teenage girls need their moms," Caroline finished his thought. "My mom and I were not close during that time in my life, but I had other people who were there for me. If it wasn't for my dad and Bonnie's grandmother, I don't know where I'd be. Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have the relationship Elena had with her mom, but I don't feel like I got the short end of the deal either and neither will those kids. They are loved and that's what is important. She will get by without a mother, because she has you."

Klaus starred at her for a minute, taken aback by her statement. Once he regained his ability to speak he nodded towards her. "Thank you. I appreciate your faith in me."

"It's easy to have faith when I see how much you love them," Caroline said with a shrug. "And I'll be here for her and Henry if they need a woman's prospective."

He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Caroline replied as casually as she could despite the fact that her heart had done a little dance at the sight of his smile. "Um, there are some leftovers in the fridge. Just more soup because I didn't think that they could handle anything more. I'm just going to go to my room."

"See you tomorrow, Caroline," Klaus called as he watched her walk away. Their conversation was the most open they had had in weeks, lately it was whether the kids had homework done or something else to do with the house. He had to admit that he missed it. Over the last few weeks, he had noticed her distancing herself a bit. Not from the twins, she seemed the same when she was with them, not she seemed to be distancing herself from him. She would turn down his offer of eating dinner with them more often than not and when she did stay to eat, she was up and gone just as fast as the twins whereas before she would stay and help clean up while they talked.

After giving a sleeping Lexi a kiss on the forehead, he headed downstairs to the kitchen. As he did, his thoughts stayed on Caroline. He really had no idea what had caused the sudden withdrawal, she had been fine on the trip. If anything, their friendship seemed to have deepened on the trip. It had even been her suggestion that the two of them sit together since she was confident that the twins would ask to switch seats again. They had chatted for a while until she had decided to take another nap. She had dreamed, he had heard her murmuring something just before he woke her but he wasn't able to make it out. He had been curious as to what she had been dreaming about because after he woke her, she had seemed a little skittish.

At least until they arrived home and he had seen her talking to Dean before he had left. He wasn't sure why it had bothered him to see the two of them talking alone but had found the fact that they were very curious. He hadn't been able to watch for long before Henry had called him inside but their discussion seemed to have been brief because Caroline had come in shortly after. He momentarily thought that Dean might have asked her for a date. He had Dean and everyone else in his area too busy to have any kind of social life as of late so he had disregarded the notion, which gave him a huge sense of relief.

It had not escaped his attention that he was feeling possessive over Caroline. He had just assumed it was just being protective of a friend. He had known Dean for many years; had discovered and molded the man's career but he did not think he was a good fit for Caroline.

Once his food was heated, Klaus decided to take it up to his studio to eat. With the twins in bed and Caroline in her room, he didn't fancy staying in the empty kitchen. He sat on a stool and stared at the painting in front of him, trying to concentrate on it instead of the blonde.

/

Two days later, Klaus woke as he normally did. His alarm went off and he jumped in the shower before moving down to the kitchen to see his children and Caroline as they all started their day. However when he arrived, he only found Lexi and Henry sitting at the table dressed for school eating cereal. That in itself was unusual since she normally served a hot breakfast and ate with them. He leaned over and kissed both of them on the head as he said good morning. He moved over to the coffee maker to get a cup and was surprised to see there was none made. There was always coffee made, it was one of the first things Caroline did in the morning. "Kids, where is Caroline?"

"Her room," Henry answered through a mouthful of cereal.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth," Klaus scolded as he went about making the coffee.

"Sorry. She woke us up and got us cereal," Henry replied after he swallowed.

"She said she'd be in her room and to come and get her when we were finished," Lexi added.

That didn't sound like Caroline at all and Klaus suddenly felt a bit worried. He started the coffee maker before he started to head out of the kitchen. "Keep eating and then brush your teeth. I'll let Caroline know you're almost ready."

Klaus climbed the stairs quickly and knocked firmly when he reached Caroline's door. "Caroline?"

When he received no response, he knocked and called her name again. And again he received no answer, so he reached down and opened the door. Under normal circumstances, he would not have entered her room like this but he was concerned and when he looked in, he saw that his concerns were well founded. Caroline lay horizontally across her bed as if she had fallen into it, dressed in sweats and her sleep shirt. Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and her face was pale. This was not the way that Caroline started her day; she was always up and freshly showered and dressed before she woke up the twins. Something was wrong.

Klaus moved forward and saw that her forehead was damp with sweat. She looked just as the twins had when they were sick. He reached forward, positioned one of his arms under her legs, and moved the other one to under her shoulders. The movement jostled her just enough to wake her. Her eyes opened slightly. "Klaus?"

"Shh…" Klaus shushed as he moved her to lay the right way in her bed and reached for her comforter. "Go back to sleep."

"But the twins…school," Caroline mumbled.

"I'll take the twins to school," Klaus assured her. "Just go back to sleep."

"MMmm…." was all the reply he got from her before she drifted off to sleep.

Klaus settled the comforter around her shoulders, before he reached up and tucked a stray curl behind her ear before he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. As soon as his lips brushed her heated skin, it hit him what he was doing. He was grateful when he saw that she didn't seem to have realized what he had done. He left her then and headed back to his children. But returned a couple of hours later.

"Caroline…sweetheart, you need to wake up," Klaus prodded until she finally opened her eyes. Once she had, he moved his arm under her again to lift her up. "We need to get some medicine and food into you."

"Ug, what's wrong with me. I feel like death," Caroline groaned. Her head felt like it was full of lead, hot, sweaty but also chilled, and she was nauseous. She didn't want to sit up but was too weak to fight against Klaus.

"It seems that the twins have decided to share their sickness with you," Klaus answered.

"Lucky me," Caroline replied as she took the pills and bottle of water he handed her. As she took them, her mind started to clear a bit. She looked at her clock and noticed the time. "What are you doing here? You should be at work."

"I was at work, but I'm needed here," Klaus answered.

"I'll be fine," Caroline assured him. "Just some sleep and some medicine and I can function."

"Functioning isn't getting better. You took care of the twins, now someone needs to take care of you, so let me," Klaus demanded as he picked up the bowl of broth he'd made for her.

"But you might get sick," Caroline replied as she started to drink down the broth.

"If I was going to, I would be in the same state as you are," Klaus just shrugged. "Besides, I don't really get sick. Never have. It comes in handy from time to time."

Caroline finished the broth before setting it aside. It was amazing how something so simple could be so filling when you were sick. She still nibbled on the crackers he offered with the hopes that it would settle her stomach. Klaus picked up before standing up. "I'm going to clean this up and let you sleep some more."

She wanted to argue, but she could already feel herself wanting to drop off. She heard him leaving her room as she slid back down into her bed and sighed heavily at how heavenly it felt.

Klaus returned a few minutes later after cleaning up her food bowls to make sure she had followed his instruction to go back to bed. He saw her curled up again under her covers and fast asleep. He was glad of it, she needed it.

Earlier in the morning after he had realized she was sick, he had quickly gathered the kids and dropped them at school before heading to his office. Once there he met with Mindy and told her that he was needed at home. It was not the most opportune time but he made it work so that he could come home to take care of her.

The next time Caroline woke, she felt better. Nowhere near one hundred percent but better. She opened her eyes as she rolled over and was surprised to see that she wasn't alone. Klaus sat nearby in a chair with his laptop. "Hey, you're here."

Klaus looked up at the sound of her voice. He set the computer to the side before moving to sit beside her on the bed, pressing his hand to her forehead. "Your fever seems to have come down, how are you feeling?"

"Better."

"Do you need anything? I can get it for you."

"Um, just a bathroom break," Caroline informed him, unable to stop herself from blushing a bit.

Klaus nodded as he got up, pulling the covers back from her. "I'll leave you to it. It's time for more medicine and broth."

Caroline waited until he was gone before she got up out of bed. She relieved herself before making her way to the sink. She cringed a bit when she saw herself in the mirror. She was pale with dark circles under eyes, her skin looked greasy from all of the sweating she had done and her hair was half coming out of her ponytail. She quickly fixed her hair to resecure it, before she used a washcloth to wipe down. It wasn't a shower but it would have to do for now because she didn't feel like she had the strength to take one. Once she was done, she went back to her room to find Klaus had also returned with a tray full more broth, water, and pills. "I could have come down to the kitchen to eat."

"You could but you shouldn't. You need to stay in bed."

Caroline rolled her eyes as she moved back over and crawled into her bed. "I hate being bedridden."

"Well, I don't think anyone enjoys it."

"Me more than others though," Caroline stated before going on. "I was in a car accident when I was seventeen, spent several weeks after in the hospital and my bed recovering. I've hated it ever since."

"The scars on your back, that's where they came from?" Klaus asked as he handed her the new bowl of broth and medicine. "I noticed them."

Caroline nodded. "My boyfriend Matt and I had just picked up his druggie sister Vickie. She had been gone for a couple of days on a bender before he had been able to track her down. He wanted to take her home, so she could sleep it off but she started freaking out in the back of the car, kicking and screaming and eventually grabbing onto Matt from behind to get him to pull over. He lost control and we went off the side of the road.

"I don't know how many times we flipped before I was thrown from the car through the windshield. It was an older car, so no safety glass. Just ordinary jagged glass that cut through my abdomen and back like a shredder," she explained. "But they were minor compared to my other injuries."

Klaus nodded as he listened to her. Her last statement did not surprise him, while the damage from the glass looked to be substantial, it wouldn't have caused her to be bedridden for the timeframe she described. "How bad was it?"

"I was in critical condition with substantial internal bleeding. I had to have surgery and even they didn't know if I was going to make it but a few days later, I was stable and on the path to recovery," Caroline said.

"Then I can understand why you hate bed rest." Klaus wasn't sure what else to say. What could he say after hearing her story? He wanted to tell her he was sorry she had to go through that but he didn't know how she would react.

"I'm surprised either one of us will even get close to a car let alone inside one," Caroline stated. It had been a long time since she had thought so much about the accident. It wasn't as painful to think about as it once was but it wasn't something she reflected on a lot. It was in the past and while it had changed her irrevocably, she had done what she could to move on.

She realized then how callous her statement to him had been, dredging up the memory of how his little brother had been killed. "Klaus, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it as a joke or cruelly," Klaus assured her.

"No, I didn't," Caroline replied wearily.

Klaus didn't want to leave yet, not when things seemed to be good between them again but he needed to. He reached over and took the tray away from her, replacing it with her TV remote. "I'm going to clean this up, and get ready to go get the twins. Will you be okay for a little bit while I do that?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Caroline stated.

"Don't get up, and don't try to do something crazy like cleaning or doing laundry."

"I won't."

"I mean it, Caroline," Klaus declared. "You seem to be better, but you are not recovered. We can handle things without you so you can get better."

"Yes, sir," the blonde retorted with a roll of her eyes. He seemed to accept her answer and moved to leave. But when he reached the door, she called out, "Klaus?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you, for taking care of me."

"Any time, sweetheart."

**Okay guys, there's the story about Caroline's scars. I modeled the incident after the car accident that happened in the show but replaced Tyler with Vicki and made the accident itself much worse. **

**I hope you enjoyed this, originally I planned for it to be two separate parts but I think it flows better being together. **


	25. Part 24 Coffee

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Before you say anything, I know this part is shorter than the last few. But I have been a bit blocked this last week and am honestly surprised I was able to get this much out. **

**Despite it's length, I hope you enjoy it.**

**Thanks to CeceVolume for betaing this and Melanoradrood for her help to get me past my block. ** **If you haven't checked out her amazing Role Reversal story, go read it after this.**

Caroline hurried along the slick sidewalk, weaving through people and objects towards her destination. She glanced at her watch when she saw the glowing sign ahead. She was going to slide in just in time, which for her actually meant that she was running late. She reached the door a minute later and went inside. She found the coffee shop warm and the smell of coffee inviting. As she pulled her scarf loose, she saw Dean waving to her from a nearby table. She waved back before moving to the table.

Dean stood as she approached and reached to take her coat. "You made it."

"Barely. I wasn't sure for a minute."

"I got your text so I wasn't expecting you for at least another ten minutes or so," Dean stated as they took their seats. A barista came over and took their orders quickly.

"I wouldn't have thought I'd be late but as I was saying good-bye to the twins, Henry spilled his drink on me so I needed to change," Caroline explained with a smile. She had just finished getting ready to go out and had gone to say good-bye to the twins when it had happened. They were eating dinner with their father and Henry had knocked over his milk when he got up. It had splattered all over the front of her top and jeans. He had quickly apologized and she told him it was fine before rushing off to change. Stained clothes were not a good thing to wear on a date, especially when it was milk.

Dean chuckled. "Must be a familiar haphazard of the job."

"Not usually. While Henry does tend to have more falls and scraps than Lexi, neither one of them are messy," Caroline commented. Lexi was steady on her feet, something that wasn't a surprise considering her skill in gymnastics, but Henry tended to be a bit of a klutz. He hated it, and complained about it often. But both of them were pretty neat kids, as long as you reminded them on occasion to pick up after themselves.

"Maybe he did it with the hope that it would get you to stay," Dean teased.

Caroline just smiled. "I highly doubt that."

"If he did, he's even smarter than I thought," Dean stated as the barista returned with their order. Once she had dropped it and left, he continued. "I'm glad you were still willing to meet me for coffee, thought I might have scared you off."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well my schedule has been crazy lately," Dean answered. "I know I told you that when I asked you, but I thought it might still turn you off."

"I'm the last person to complain about a crazy schedule, mine usually is," Caroline stated. "Besides, I've been working pretty much the same schedule as you since Klaus has been so busy at the office."

"True, I hadn't thought of that," Dean replied before he took a drink of his coffee. "So did you always want to be a nanny?"

"No, well kind of. It wasn't the job I dreamed of as a little girl, but I'm pretty sure you can't go to college to be a princess," Caroline answered with a laugh that Dean joined her in. "I started volunteering at my church's nursery at the end of high school and decided I wanted to get into a career that involved children. Started going for my teaching degree when a classmate who was working as a nanny told me about it. I looked into it and really liked what I saw. Started working part time for a family a few months later."

"Well, I know the boss man loves having you around," Dean stated.

"Wh…what?" Caroline replied as she choked a little on her coffee. She hadn't expected to hear Dean say something like that.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked as he reached forward to pat her on her back to help.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She coughed to clear her throat before she went on. "It just went down the wrong way."

"I hate it when that happens."

"Anyways, you were saying?" Caroline asked, trying to get back to what he was talking about. She knew she shouldn't care what Klaus had said to Dean about her, but her curiosity got the better of her.

"Oh, just that I've heard Klaus talking about you over the last few months, mostly to Mindy or one of his brothers. He seems very happy with you taking care of the twins, at least by some of the stories he's told. Your name is almost as common around the office as the twins," Dean stated. "It's one of the reasons I asked you out."

"Seriously?" Caroline replied.

"Okay, I didn't mean for that to sound so stalkerish," Dean said with a nervous laugh.

Caroline couldn't help but smile as he tried to back step over what he had said. "No, it didn't sound that way."

"It's just when I saw you that day I picked you all up, and I saw the face that matched the name, I couldn't help myself," Dean stated.

This time Caroline outright laughed. When she saw confusion come over Dean's face, she quickly explained, "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. It's just that morning was crazy; I had just gotten back the night before from a trip home for Christmas, so I was exhausted. Then the twins were trying to pack everything under the sun and suddenly I answered the door and you were on the other side and you weren't want I was expecting. Klaus had said a driver was coming so I guess I just expected some older uniformed chauffeur."

"And instead you got my handsome face," Dean teased causing Caroline to roll her eyes at him. "Anyways, that wasn't the best morning to make a first impression."

"Well, you seemed pretty put together to me," he said with a shrug.

"Thankfully, I didn't really have to do anything for that trip; Klaus handled on the details. I was just along for the ride," Caroline replied.

"Seems like it all worked out. It looked as if you had a good vacation when I picked you up."

"It was a good, great even," Caroline said with a small smile as she thought back over the week. She could not truly remember a vacation like it, not that she had a lot to compare it to. And it had been unbelievable. Barbados had been beautiful, but it was also the company she had while there. The only thing to sully her memories of it was the dream she had had, not because it had caused her to realize that she had more than friendly feelings for her boss but because it also made her realize that part of the reason she had enjoyed the trip so much was because of those feelings. While she had made sure to point out the boundaries to him the first night they were there and reminded him that she was there as an employee she herself had found herself forgetting during most of the trip.

Realizing that she was on this date with Dean to try and get her mind off of those feelings she had for Klaus, Caroline pushed the memories away and focused on the man in front of her. "So enough about work. Um, have you always lived in Boston?"

A couple hours later, Caroline said good-bye to Dean and returned home. The date had been…sweet. He didn't make her go weak in the knees or send her heart racing, but she did think he was good looking, seemed like a nice guy, and was funny and easy to talk to. He had asked if she would like to go out to dinner with him and she had agreed. She couldn't help but have a small smile on her face.

By the time she unlocked the front door, Caroline knew she would find a quiet house. It was past the twins' bedtime and their father would have long put them to bed. She hoped that he had then retreated to his studio but as soon as she entered the foyer, she found that was not the case.

Klaus sat on one of the sofas in the living room, facing towards the television. She recognized one of the few television shows that Klaus watched, a science fiction show on the BBC, playing but his attention quickly turned towards her. A grin appeared on his face as he greeted her. "Caroline."

"Hi," she responded before inching towards the stairs. She hadn't really talked to him since she had recovered from the virus that the twins had given and she felt horrible about it. He had gone out of his way to take care of her, not just the first day but the next as well. He had taken care of her duties with the kids and stayed with her while they were at school, making sure that she didn't have to go any farther than her bathroom for anything that she needed. She had found that when she wasn't sleeping they were talking. Nothing big, just little things from their pasts or things that they liked but it was still more than they had talked in weeks. Moreover, she found that she didn't want to stop, despite her promise to distance herself from him. She had granted herself the reprieve until she had gotten better.

"I see you had a nice time out," Klaus stated as he took in the smile he saw on her face. He quickly paused the TV and swung his legs around so he faced her.

"Sorry to interrupt," Caroline replied. "I'll just head upstairs."

"Actually, I've been waiting to talk to you. Would you sit?" Klaus asked then when she hesitated, he added, "Please?"

Caroline nodded in agreement as she moved to take a seat on the sofa across from him. "Nothing's wrong is it?"

"Oh no, sweetheart, nothing like that," Klaus assured her. "I just needed to ask you something that is a bit last minute, so I didn't want to risk not catching you."

"Then ask."

"I wanted to know if you would be available to stay with the twins on Saturday night?" Klaus asked. "A business associate contacted me this evening, he is coming in from New Orleans and will only be in Boston for the weekend. He wants to meet for a business dinner."

"Oh, Saturday night?" Caroline repeated.

"Yes, sorry for the late notice and intruding on your time off but, as I said, he just contacted me," Klaus explained. "I thought that perhaps you would be free?"

"Actually, I'm not," Caroline stated. "I just made plans."

"Would it be possible to change them?" Klaus asked. "I anticipate the meeting to last most of the evening, but if your plans are with Elena and Bonnie, by all means invite them over."

"That's a thoughtful suggestion, but my plans aren't with Elena and Bonnie," Caroline declared with a pause. She didn't know why it was suddenly very hard to talk about something she had been happy about moments before. "They're with a guy...I have a date."

"Oh," Klaus said. He was sure that the surprise was evident in his voice to both of them. Of all of the replies Caroline could have given him, that was not one he had considered. There was a sudden ache in his chest, as if Kol had just hit him with one of his bats. "You have a date?"

"Don't sound so surprised," Caroline snapped. She wasn't sure why his question had struck her the wrong way, but it sounded as if he found the idea as ludicrous which she had to admit hurt a little.

"I just didn't realize you had started dating someone," Klaus explained. When had she started seeing someone? It was just over a month ago that the two of them had sat on these very sofas and she had talked about her breakup with Tyler, why had she not mentioned that she was dating again? Perhaps she hadn't been at the time. Could this be why she had become distant as of late?

"I'm not, I mean this would be our first real date, we're going out to dinner," Caroline explained. She didn't know why she felt like she needed to, but that didn't stop the words from coming out of her mouth. "I can cancel it, I mean change it to a different day .. "

"No, you shouldn't cancel it," Klaus retorted. "I will ask one of my siblings to come over."

"But…."

"Caroline, it's fine. Do not feel as if you are obliged to change your plans for me," Klaus declared. "Go on your date."

She wasn't sure, but Caroline thought she could hear anger in his voice. He had already turned away from her and back to the TV, so she couldn't see his eyes which would have given her some kind of clue as to whether he was angry or not. But why would he be angry?

She had said she would cancel her plans if he wanted her to. She stood up and headed out of the room but despite her confusion about his reaction, she found herself turning back to him. "I'm sorry."

Her words pulled his attention back to her and their eyes locked. At that moment Caroline wasn't sure if she was apologizing for being busy or because she had a date.

**Well? like it? Hate it? **

**Don't worry, there is more of jealous Klaus to come. **


	26. Part 25 Undisclosed Desires

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey my lovelies, before you read the update below, I wanted to leave a note to let you know of some things.**

**I had a couple of people ask if my hiatus had anything to do with the Review Council's review and it did not. It was just a coincidence that they reviewed this right before I went on hiatus.**

**The day I left the message, I had been dealing with a lot of crap and then some more crap heaped on me from my oldest and him not thinking before posting something on Facebook. When it all came down, I was writing this part and putting it on hiatus was the only thing I could think of to get rid of at least a little bit of the stress I was feeling. I have since gotten put on anxiety medicine and it will be helping soon I hope. **

**That being said; while I'm writing I don't know how frequent or regular my updates will be. I hope not to go long periods of time between but this part took me just over a week to finish so I don't have a ton of confidence that it will be fast. **

**I want to thank each and every one of you for the comments, PMs, and for being so understanding. I really appreciate it. We hit over 1000 reviews on this story and I can hardly believe it.**

**Now I'll shut up and let you read. **

Part 25

Klaus liked to think that since becoming a father he had learned to control his temper and mood swings. For most of his life, he had let his temper and impulsiveness get the better of him, but he knew after the first time he held the twins that he couldn't let it run him anymore. However, the last two days had greatly tested his resolve.

Ever since the night he had asked Caroline if she would be able to watch Henry and Lexi during his dinner meeting, he had been agitated and quick tempered. That night he had been unable to focus on the TV, so he had gone up to his room to bed yet found it difficult to fall asleep and once he did it was fitfully. The lack of sleep had done nothing but add to his agitation when he woke. He had gone downstairs ready for the day and was happy to see that his mood quickly lifted when he saw his children. Caroline had been there as well, but he had focused on the twins so as not to let his irritation get to him.

Within an hour of arriving at his office, his staff had become aware of their boss's horrid mood after he had lashed out at Nate for losing a highly prized acquisition and Aidan for incompetence. For the rest of the day Mindy ran interference between him and those who dared to try and disturb him. He was positive he had never seen his staff depart for the weekend as quickly as they did that Friday, as if they thought he would rip their hearts from their chests for speaking to him.

When he returned home that night, Caroline had just been returning with the twins from Lexi's practice. She seemed a bit uncertain around him, until she asked him if he had been able to secure an alternate caregiver for the following night, offering again to change her plans if he needed her. He had quickly informed her that Katherine and Elijah would be coming over to watch the twins and he did not require her assistance. She had departed shortly after to her room and he knew that his abrupt answer had clued her into his mood but he did not care. All day Saturday, his attention had been focused on Lexi and Henry and had tried not to think of Caroline but found it hard once the evening approached.

Klaus was tying his tie when the front door opened and Katherine strolled in. He looked behind her and saw that she was alone. "Where's Elijah and Daniel?"

"Hello to you, too," Katherine replied before answering. "At home, enjoying some much needed daddy/son time."

Klaus' eyebrow shot up in surprise. "And he let you come by yourself?"

"I'm a big girl, Nik."

"And getting bigger every day, which is why I'm shocked my brother didn't come with you."

"He tried, but I insisted that he stay home," Katherine stated, glaring at him for the comment on her expanding belly. "It's not as if the twins are babies or toddlers that require a lot of lifting and carrying. I thought we'd cue up a movie and have some dinner, nothing especially strenuous. Are you going to argue with the woman who is doing you a favor? Because you made it sound like you didn't have much of a choice of sitters?"

Klaus knew she was right, he didn't have much of an alternative and so he wasn't going to argue. However, before he could say anything in return, Katherine's attention turned away from him and she let out a loud whistle. "You look hot, Caroline."

Unable to help himself, Klaus looked over to where Caroline had appeared on the staircase and his breath caught. She wore a black dress that hugged her curves perfectly; her cleavage peaking out teasingly, the skirt long enough to be modest yet still displayed plenty of her creamy legs that ended in a pair of black strappy high heels. Her hair was down, spilling around her shoulders and back in large curls that bounced as she came down the stairs. She looked…beautiful.

Caroline found herself hesitating halfway down the stairs when she saw Klaus. He was dressed in a charcoal suit with a pale blue shirt. In addition to the jacket, the suit had a matching vest that fit him well. He had gone without a tie, instead leaving the collar open so that the necklaces he wore peaked out just a little. Her eyes rose from that little patch of skin and she saw that he seemed to be staring at her. The look in his eyes was penetrating but she forced herself to look away and continue down. When she reached the bottom she looked at Katherine. "Um, thanks I think."

"I'm being sincere here, you should know that I wouldn't say anything if I didn't think it," Katherine stated. She looked at her brother in law; it hadn't escaped her attention that Klaus was eyeing the blonde as if he hadn't seen a woman in a long time. "Tell her how hot she looks, Klaus. From a guy's perspective."

"Katherine…" Klaus growled in warning. He didn't know what she thought she was doing, but she was pushing his patience.

"What? You're a guy right?" Katherine asked innocently before looking back at Caroline. "Where is this date of yours taking you?"

Before Caroline could answer, the doorbell rang. Katherine looked at her expectedly, but she shook her head. "It's not me; I'm meeting him there."

"That would be, Marcel," Klaus answered as he went to the door. On the other side, was a chauffeur. "Mr. Mikaelson?"

Klaus nodded before motioning to the driver to hold for a minute. He relayed last minute instructions to Katherine before moving to leave. As he did, he glanced one more time to look at Caroline. His eyes roamed over her figure, taking in her stunning appearance before departing, ignoring the sudden urge to grab her and take her with him instead.

/

"Another drink, sir?" the waiter asked him.

Klaus shook his head to decline before he turned back to the conversation before him. Marcel was the same as always, very business driven but also enjoyed the finer things in life. Two women, Sophia and Davina had accompanied him who he claimed to be associates of his; though, Klaus doubted it was solely business oriented. However, that didn't seem to keep either women from giving him an appraising eye when he had joined them in the car earlier nor hinder Sophie from engaging him in flirtatious conversation as they ate. Something he encouraged by returning the attention. She was an attractive so it was not much of a hardship.

Regardless of the fact that he had the woman's undivided interest, his attention kept straying to Caroline and what she might be doing on her date. And those thoughts lead to an ache in his chest seemed to grow. It was confusing to him; it was almost as if he was feeling possessive over Caroline.

He didn't know why the thought of her dating was bothering him so much, after all she was not his girlfriend or a woman he was having a relationship with. She was his nanny, the woman who took care of his household, helped him as he raised his kids. Yes, they had developed a different type of relationship than he had had with Ayanna but that didn't change things. She could date whomever she wanted. It should only matter to him if she brought the man around his children or if the bloke was stupid enough to harm her. If he did, whoever he was, would regret it.

"Klaus?" He heard Marcel calling him, and he could tell by the way the man looked at him that he had missed something. "I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere."

"Obviously," Marcel stated a smirk on his face. "My companions and I were just saying how we thought that now that our business has been concluded we might seek out some entertainment? Unless you need to leave to head home to _les petits enfants_."

Klaus rolled his eyes in amusement; Marcel had always been the type of man who enjoyed a good time. He looked at his watch to check the time. Katherine wouldn't be expecting him back for a couple of more hours and the time away would keep him from dwelling on other…matters. "That is not necessary, the night is young."

"Excellent," Marcel replied.

As soon as the details of the check had been dealt with, the party rose and headed outside to wait for Marcel's driver. The late January air was cold but Klaus did not pay much attention to it until he felt a soft warm body press up against him before hot breath whispered against his ear. "How about we leave Marcel and Davina to their own devices while we find our own entertainment at my hotel room?"

Klaus turned his head to look at attractive and obviously very willing woman who had wrapped herself around him, smirking seductively as he did. Perhaps taking her up on her offer was just what he needed. He opened his mouth to answer her when a very familiar laugh caught his attention. He turned his gaze away from Sophie and in the direction that the laughter had come from. It only took him a second before he caught sight of Caroline across the street. She wore a long coat over the dress he had seen her in earlier but her blonde head was uncovered. She had her head thrown back as she laughed at something her date, who was next to her with his arm wrapped around her and whispering something into her ear. She looked like she was enjoying herself, but all Klaus saw was red.

A moment later the man pulled back from her, Klaus was able to clearly see his face and he saw who it was: Dean. He should have gone with his instincts before but had brushed them off. Now it seemed that he had been right to be weary. However right then, Caroline seemed to feel his gaze on her and turned towards him. He watched her blue eyes widen in surprise when their eyes met, as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. They stared at each other for a moment before her attention shifted to his side, and he knew that she had noticed the woman next to him. The distance between them was too great for him to precisely read her eyes, but he thought he saw a flare of anger and dare he say jealousy?

A large truck drove down the street between them, cutting her off from his sight for a few minutes. Once it had moved on, he saw her attention was back on Dean as she pulled him away and down the street. It was then that he realized that Sophie was still pressed against him, still waiting for an answer. He turned his gaze away from the blonde walking away from him and to the willing woman next to him. "Lead the way, love."

/

Klaus was barely in the door before Katherine appeared in front of him. "It's about time! I was wondering if either of you would come home."

"Caroline isn't back yet?"

"Nope," Katherine answered with a smirk. "Her date must be going really well."

Klaus saw the grin on her face and knew she was trying to bait him but couldn't help his growl. "Good for her."

"Someone is awfully cranky," Katherine retorted. "I was just making an observation. I think it'd be good for her to get out of this house and have some male company. A girl needs something more to twix her nethers than something that runs on batteries."

"Katherine, I'm not in the mood," Klaus retorted, his anger rising. He shrugged out of his suit jacket before he walked over to his liquor cabinet. "I thank you for the assistance tonight, but it's time you left. My brother is surely waiting for you."

Katherine heard his words but did not move. Instead, she looked him over. He looked a bit of a mess. With his jacket removed, she could see that the vest and shirt were still in buttoned up but looked rumpled slightly and the sleeves had been rolled up half haphazardly. His hair looked tousled as if fingers had been ran through it repeatedly. "What did you do tonight, Klaus?"

His hand paused midway as he lifted the tumbler to his lips to take a drink. "Drop it, Katherine. It's none of your business."

"Because it looks to me like your meeting wasn't just business, which causes me to assume Marcel brought along some companions with him?" Katherine asked as she ignored his warning. When he didn't disagree with her statement, she went on. "Well, I would think that getting laid might make you a little less grumpy than you seem to be. Unless of course it's because you had the wrong woman in your bed."

Klaus snapped his eyes over to hers and she knew she had hit the nail on the head. The expression on his face had hardened and his eyes were clouded in anger but she kept going. "You're getting pissed off because you know what I'm saying is the truth."

"You don't know what you are talking about."

"Like hell I don't," Katherine argued as she moved forward until she was standing in front of him and he had no choice but to look at her. "You were jealous that she went out with someone tonight that wasn't you, so you did something stupid and now you're doing the walk of shame."

"That's enough!" Klaus yelled at her, finally having enough of her taunting.

Katherine knew he would not hurt her but the force in his voice made her move back a step. "The fact that you are so angry should open your eyes to what's right in front of you."

"Go home, Katherine," Klaus said coldly, as he turned away from her and walked over to his mantel.

Katherine knew there was no speaking to him when he shut a person out like he was doing. She had seen him do it too many times though it had been awhile. That alone spoke volumes to her on how accurate her words to him had been.

He continued to stare into the fire as he listened to the sound of Katherine retreating and finally shutting the door. The fire burned brightly inside, and he stared at it, emptying the glass in his hand. He didn't think he could consume enough alcohol to burn the thoughts plaguing his mind.

He didn't want to think about how he had felt when he had seen her earlier that night in the arms of another man, how angry he had been at the sight. He didn't want to think about how he had practically thrown himself at Sophie in an attempt to push Caroline out of his thoughts. He didn't want to think about how he was wrong in thinking he was just physically attracted to Caroline while valuing her friendship. He didn't want to think that Katherine was right and that there was something more….that he felt something more for Caroline. He didn't want think about how he wanted to be more than her boss or her friend. He didn't want to think about how he wanted to take her out on a date, how he wanted to be the one with his arms wrapped around her whispering something into her ear, or taking her to bed with him. He didn't want to think about the two of them spending time with the twins just because.

As he went to refill his glass, Klaus spied something lying on one of the end tables. It was a familiar looking hair clip, one he'd seen Caroline wearing numerous times before. He thought about how she always had it up in some way when she was with him and the twins, and how it had looked down tonight framing her face. The sight of the simple clip sent anger and jealousy coursing through his veins again just as he heard the front door opening.

Caroline let herself inside quickly, and removed her coat. Her mind replayed everything from the night. Dinner had been nice, good food and conversation. Dean had quite the sense of humor. There were a few times that they had lapsed into silence but that was expected in the beginning. When they were done; they had left to go to show that Dean had tickets to nearby. At one point as they walked, he had put his arm around her. She hadn't objected, it had felt comfortable. Not long after, he had leaned in to tease her that he felt safe knowing that she was next to him. She had laughed and told him that she had regretted telling him about what had happened when she went with Kol to the club in Barbados when she had felt as if she was being watched.

It had been a shock when she was met with a familiar face across the street. She had imagined for a second that their paths might cross that night. She had starred at him in disbelief before she noticed that he wasn't alone. There had been a brunette pressed up against him, her mouth up by his ear in a very friendly way. He didn't look to be fighting off the woman's advances either. She had no idea who the hell she was but Caroline felt the sudden desire to go across the street and rip her off of Klaus.

Caroline had been snapped out of her anger when a truck had gone by and she was brought back to reality. Klaus wasn't hers, and she was on a date with Dean to forget him. She had quickly grabbed onto her date and pulled him away before she could forget that fact again. She had thrown herself into the date after that doing whatever she could to keep him out of her thoughts and when Dean had leaned in to kiss her at the end of the date, she hadn't turned away. She had kissed him back though she felt like it was missing something.

"Did you enjoy your date?" she heard a low growl ask. Caroline looked over and saw Klaus hovering in the doorway, watching her. His eyes roamed over her, and she could swear he was studying her before his eyes raised back to hers. She knew he was waiting for an answer. "It was fine."

"Just fine?" Klaus repeated. "It didn't look like it was just fine earlier."

Caroline's eyebrows creased in confusion at the harshness in his voice. "It was nice. Good food, company."

"Were you going to tell me that you're dating one of my staff?" Klaus asked as he took a drink.

"I didn't know I needed to inform you when a guy asked me out," Caroline replied as she crossed her arms over her chest in defiance. Was he actually trying to dictate who she dated? "And I don't remember seeing anything in my contract about not dating anyone who is employed under you."

"I didn't realize it needed to be stated," Klaus retorted. "It's not very professional."

"Seriously?" Caroline demanded, her anger stirring. "How much of that business meeting was actually related to business?"

She saw him wince slightly at her words and she wanted to take them back. Things were spiraling out of control, and she was letting the jealousy she'd felt earlier influence her words. Not to mention he was being infuriating.

Klaus could see that his words had gotten to her by the way she was lashing back at him. She was mad but he wasn't going to stop. Because he could see that she wasn't just mad for what he was saying about her date, he was quite certain it was due the jealousy he could see on her face. What he was feeling wasn't quite as one-sided as he thought. "She had nothing to do with the business I dealt with tonight; she was just one of his traveling companions."

"Yeah, she seemed very…friendly," Caroline snapped before she could stop herself. She brought her hands together up in front of her face, and took a deep breath. "I don't know why I am arguing with you about this. Who I date isn't part of our agreement and has nothing to do with my job."

Her words were like a slap to the face; she was trying to distance herself from what was going on between them, and he didn't know if it was the liquor in his system or what but he wasn't stepping down. He moved forward so that he stood only less than an arm's length in front of her. "You shouldn't be dating him."

"Why not? He's good looking, sweet, easy to talk to….besides what does it matter? It's not like he and I work together so that if things went south there would be fallout," Caroline stated. "So you have to give me another reason why I shouldn't date Dean."

But he didn't say anything. He just stood there looking at her as if he couldn't come up with an answer so she asked again, "Why should I not date him?"

Before her mind could register what he was doing, Klaus stepped forward and brought his hands up to cup her face before bringing his lips down onto hers. A small gasp of surprise rose out of her throat as she felt his lips press to hers. They were soft, tender, not at all what she had expected them to be when he had grabbed her. He was tentative, exploratory, the velvety smooth touch of his lips ignited desire within her body.

Klaus' lips moved against hers for a moment before he withdrew slightly away from her, opening his eyes to look to her for a reaction. Her eyes opened slowly, but meeting his full on and he could see a combination of shock and wonder. Her mouth opened before she spoke. "Oh…"

Not sure of what her response meant, he dropped his hands and took a step back. He had acted without thinking, using a physical display of his thoughts instead of voicing them. However, that did not mean that he regretted it for a second. He was not one to hold back once he was determined but he did not want to force himself on her either. She continued to stare at him and he could not read anything more than what he had initially seen in her eyes. "Caroline…"

Caroline saw him step back and look at her, and when she heard her name on his lips as if he was asking her a question she gave him an answer. But she didn't answer with words. Instead she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back to her, and placed a firm kiss on his lips. She brought one of her hands down the front of his shirt intending to wrap around the collar of his shirt to keep him close but when her fingertips brushed his necklaces, she looped them around her fingers instead and gave it a tug.

This kiss was completely different than the first one, it had been gentle while this one was a complete one eighty. This kiss was full of desire and passion. All the sexual tension between the two of them that had built up over the time they had known each other fueled the moment.

His mouth molded over hers, hard and persuasive, parting her lips with the thrust of his tongue. He ravished her mouth as he brought his hands to her hips and tugged her closer to him deepening the kiss as he did. She felt good in his arms, natural, and for a moment, he could pretend that everything was not about to get complicated. He could lose himself in her touch in the way her body instinctively curled into his. Their bodies rubbed against each other trying to touch as much as possible.

Klaus guided Caroline backwards, still kissing and touching, until he had her pinned against the nearest wall. His hands slid down from her waist, over her ass. He squeezed it roughly before he moved them down farther to the back of her thighs. He caressed her legs until he reached the hem of her dress and felt her bare skin. His grip tightened on her thighs and lifted her up to bring her body closer to his.

When she felt her feet leave the ground, Caroline wrapped her legs around Klaus's waist, and her dress crept up her thighs slightly. The movement dislodged their lips from each other but he took the opening to explore lower. Moving away from her mouth, his silky lips left soft kisses against her temple, the outline of her ear, her jaw. He found a spot behind her right ear and lingered there until her breath grew ragged. He skimmed down the column of her throat, his breath warming where neck met shoulder.

She bit down on her lower lip to stifle a soft gasp as his stubble brushed against the delicate skin along her collarbone as his lips sought out and found the most sensitive spots on her neck, causing the nerve endings in her skin to tingle in anticipation. She let go of his necklaces to wrap her arms around him, running her hands over the muscles of his back and then threading her fingers through his curly hair. She circled her hips against his rock hard arousal causing him to break away from his task and returned to capture her mouth again while pressing hard against her.

Caroline's head spun as the desire for the man in front of her consumed her and only a small voice broke through the fog.

"Daddy?"

The sound of Lexi's voice had the same effect as a bucket of cold water thrown on them. They broke apart, and Caroline stared at him with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights. Klaus lowered her down quickly but gently. As soon her feet were securely on the floor, Klaus rushed past her towards his daughter's voice.

As he entered the foyer, Klaus searched out his daughter and found her close to the bottom of the stairs. She was so close, a few more stairs and feet and she would have been in the living room witnessing her father mauling her nanny against the wall. His eyes skimmed over her, looking for something wrong as he spoke, "What's wrong, sweetheart? What are you doing up?"

"I had to go the bathroom, but I heard you and Caroline fighting and noise….why are you guys fighting?" Lexi asked sleepily.

"We weren't fighting. We just didn't agree about something," Klaus tried to explain.

"Did you guys make up?" she asked.

"Um...not sure," Klaus replied before he tried to steer her upstairs. "Let's get you to bed."

"Can I have a drink of water? From the kitchen?" Lexi asked. "Please?"

Klaus tried not to show the frustration he was feeling as he nodded. She smiled back at him before reaching forward and wrapping her little arms around him for him to pick her up. After settling her back into bed, he hurried downstairs but only found an empty living room.

**Well was it worth the wait? Please review and let me know what you think. (ADD ON: I deleted the note I had on here announcing my hiatus and replaced it with this part. It looks like I shouldn't have done that because now if you left me a note in response to my note, it won't let you leave a review. You can log out though and leave a review as a guest if you want)**

**BTW, Katherine's line that includes the batteries was a variation of a line from the movie Serenity and not mine.**


	27. Part 26 What now?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow, the responses on the last part were amazing! I think we hit almost 90 reviews just from that one part. And I'm not sure how many of those reviews started with "Lexi, I love you but…." Haha. Poor thing, everyone's mad at her for cockblocking her dad and Caroline. **

**And I am surprised by the response to Klaus and Sophie. I guess if I'd had it be Hayley I would have gotten a much different response. **

**Sorry this part is only half the length of the last one. The next one should be a dozy.**

**Thanks to Cece Volume for all of her help and a-little-blonde-distraction and melanoradrood for their encouragement that this part isn't as bad as I thought. **

Part 26

As soon as Klaus and Lexi disappeared into the kitchen to get the little girl the water she asked for, Caroline bolted up the stairs as fast as her heels would let her and headed towards her room. She passed through her door, shutting it behind her securely before she rushed to her bathroom.

Caroline flipped on the light before moving over to the mirror. Although she half expected it, she was still surprised at what she saw. Her hair was mussed a little, mostly in the back, her lips were red and swollen from his kisses, and she could see that the skin at the base of her neck was a bit pink from where it had been rubbed with his stubble. "Oh, God."

What had she done? She had kissed Klaus! Her boss. The man she had decided weeks ago was the last person she should be kissing. Okay, so technically, he had kissed her first, but he had pulled back and given her an out. She was the one who had idiotically pulled him back to her and kissed him.

Saying she kissed him was the understatement of the century. Not when it ended up with her being pinned to the wall with her legs wrapped around him and her dress pushed up almost to her waist while they had explored every crevice of each other's mouths. Before she could stop herself, her tongue came out and ran across her bottom lip as she remembered the feel of his mouth on hers. The dream she had of them in Barbados wasn't even close to the real thing.

A knock at her door broke her out of her thoughts. Seconds went by before she heard it again followed by the muffled sound of a familiar voice. "Caroline? Open up."

Caroline should have known that he would seek her out after putting Lexi back in bed especially when he saw that the living room was empty. Instead of answering the door and letting him in, she walked over to the bathtub and turned on the shower. It should be loud enough for him to hear, and hopefully it would make him leave. Of course, this plan could backfire, he could just charge into her room and into the bathroom to talk to her. She wouldn't put it past him.

When he didn't get a response to his knock or him calling to her, Klaus knew she wasn't going to come to her door. Either that or he had been wrong and she had left the house instead of fleeing to her room. He considered opening the door to check, but instead he leaned against the door in an attempt to see if he could hear her moving around inside. He did not hear movement, but he did hear the distant sound of water running as if the shower was going.

Again, he contemplated barging into her room to talk to her. If she was in the shower, she could not run from him. Of course, he knew that trapping her like that would most likely lead to her yelling at him rather than talking to him calmly. Then again, considering how their last argument ended, Klaus did not find the idea of fighting with her again completely terrible. However, in the end he decided against it. She might be avoiding him now, but that wouldn't last. They were going to talk about what had happened. Things had shifted downstairs and neither one of them could ignore it.

He pushed away from her door and headed towards the stairs to go up to his room, unbuttoning his vest as he went. His mind briefly went back to when Caroline had wrapped one of his necklaces around her fingers and used them to hold him near her. The action had been a huge turn-on for him and he couldn't help the smirk on his face. Perhaps a cold shower was in order.

When the door stayed firmly shut and Klaus didn't appear after a few minutes, Caroline figured that her plan worked and he had left. She let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She couldn't see him right now, couldn't talk to him. Not until she had a handle on her thoughts...and her hormones.

Deciding that a shower might help her relax, Caroline stripped out of her clothes and got in. The water was cold; she hadn't turned it up since she had started the shower as a ruse to get rid of Klaus. It was a jolt to her system, but it effectively knocked out whatever heat she still had in her body from their encounter downstairs.

Her mind drifted back to their earlier encounter. How had her evening started from going on a date with Dean to hiding in her bathroom so to avoid talking to Klaus about making out with him in the living room? She had gone out with Dean to avoid this very situation. Well, not this one in particular since she had never thought that her feelings for Klaus might be reciprocated.

At the very least, he was attracted to her. Moreover, if she wasn't wrong, he had been jealous of her dating Dean. Was it because he had feelings for her or was he just being possessive? He could want her in just a physical way and not want any other man to touch her. Though her reasons weren't wholly physical, she had felt the same way earlier when she had seen him on the street with that woman.

Caroline groaned at the memory. She had been so caught up in what had happened with Klaus and her that she had temporarily forgotten that she hadn't been the only one he had been physical with tonight. She felt her stomach twist in nausea while her anger flared. He more than likely slept with that woman, if what she saw earlier of their interaction was any indication of what happened next, and then came home upset that she was on a date? How dare he? And how had she been so stupid to forget that?

But she knew why. When he had kissed her, all of her thoughts and reasoning had fled. She had acted on impulsive and let her instincts take over. She wasn't thinking about how her impulsiveness was going to screw up her life...or her job. Things were a mess and she had no idea what she was going to do.

/

After a night of tossing and turning, Caroline finally fell into a restless sleep in the wee hours of the morning. When she finally woke up, it was late morning and her phone was ringing. "Hello?"

"Morning, Caroline."

"Dean?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, did I wake you?"

"Yes, I mean, it's fine," Caroline answered. "Did you need something?"

"No, just calling. Like I said I would."

"Oh, right," Caroline replied. Before they had ended their date the night before, he had said he would call her today, but she hadn't really thought he would. Guys never did after all, yeah maybe after a couple of days or so but never the day after. Of course, Dean would be the one guy who actually did it.

"I had a good time last night and I wanted to call and see if I could ask you for a second date?"

"A second date?" Caroline repeated. She glanced at the clock before she made a decision. "How about a late lunch? Say in an hour?"

"Um, sure. Do you have some place in particular in mind?" Dean asked.

Caroline worked out the details before hanging up. Now she needed to get up and get ready. She hoped she might be able to get out of house without running into anyone but she wasn't counting on it. It was silly of her to think that she could avoid Klaus, they lived in the same house and he was her boss,. She felt like she was walking on eggshells until she knew how he might react to her. Would he try to talk to her about it again? Or maybe he'd just ignore it and act as if nothing had happened. She hoped it was the latter of the two, though it hurt a little to think of him doing that.

A little while later, dressed in a pair of jeans, a sweater and boots, Caroline grabbed her purse and took a deep breath. She opened the door, stepped out and headed to the staircase. She was midway down the steps when Henry can running up them, a big smile on his face. "Caroline! I was coming to get you. You have to come see what Lexi and I built."

He didn't wait for her to answer, only grabbed her hand and started dragging her down the stairs. Once they hit the main floor, he kept pulling her until they went down the basement stairs to the playroom. She was barely inside when she stopped dead.

Lexi was sitting on the floor right next to a Lego castle that she guessed was the item Henry had been talking about and she wasn't alone, her father was just off to the side of her, helping her sort through the mounds of Legos. She couldn't help glancing over at him. When he looked up at her, she quickly turned her attention to the castle in front of her. "Wow guys, that looks great. Fit for a princess."

Lexi beamed back at her but Henry didn't look very happy. "This isn't a princess's castle, no girly tea parties or anything. It's a fortress. It's gonna have a drawbridge and cannons and all kinds of stuff so that when our enemies attack they don't stand a chance. Right, Dad?"

"Sounds about right," Klaus agreed, though he didn't take his eyes off of Caroline. "Though I suppose a princess could live inside. After all the knights need to protect someone, don't they?"

However, instead of his statement placating the twins, it did the opposite actually. They started bickering when Lexi said she wanted to take over one of the towers for the princess and Henry disagreed.

Caroline watched for a few minutes before she cut in, "You guys keep working and I'll come back and see it later."

Neither of the kids seemed to be paying attention to her, so she retreated out of the playroom and headed back upstairs. She thought she had escaped until his voice called to her when she was halfway up. "Caroline..."

She could hear him coming behind her, chasing after her and knew that she couldn't get away from him. So she stopped her ascent and turned towards him, waiting to see what he would do now that he had her.

Klaus was surprised that she had stopped; he figured he'd have to chase her all the way until he could make her stop. He continued until he reached the step below her, his eyes looking her over. Though she had not made him chase her further, she still looked reluctant to talk to him. Her eyes looked at him nervously and her teeth had caught her bottom lip between them.

He felt the overwhelming desire to cover her lips with his own and run his tongue over that exact spot that her teeth nibbled on. He caught himself before he leaned forward did just that, instead he reached forward and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "You ran away last night..."

"Lexi needed you," Caroline replied.

"Yes, but I came back as quickly as I could to you and when you weren't there," Klaus stated. "I went searching for you, you made sure you were busy."

"I needed to take a shower," Caroline said, her excuse sounded lame even to her own ears.

"You were hiding," Klaus retorted.

"Maybe," Caroline muttered. "I need to go; I'm supposed to be meeting someone."

Klaus felt his jealousy rise at her statement as he wondered if she was going to see Dean. "We need to talk love, about what happened between us. You can't avoid it forever."

Caroline knew he wasn't going to drop it until they did talk. "I know. But I just can't right now, I have to go."

"Later?" Klaus asked and when he saw her nod slightly, he pushed more. "Tonight. After the twins are in bed."

She opened her mouth to argue but instead found herself agreeing. "Okay. Tonight."

Klaus couldn't help but smirk, he had gotten her to agree to it. Before she could leave, he grabbed one of hands, and brushed his lips against her knuckles. "Until tonight, then."

He released her hand before turning to head back down to the twins, leaving a stunned Caroline behind him.

**OKAY, DON'T KILL ME PLEASE! I know that this probably wasn't what some of you were hoping for but I hope you weren't too disappointed. **


	28. Part 27 The Talk

**Hello my lovelies. Here is my update for you, I hope you enjoy. As you can see, it's a long one. I'm mentally exhausted after writing this part. **

**I wanted to thank jomosfamilyjewels (aka the Deej) and a-little-blonde-distraction for all of their help on this part. It would have royally sucked if not for them. And Cecevolume for being my beta. **

***Warning: This part goes into the M rated territory just so you know***

Part 27

Caroline couldn't remember the last time she had been so tense and uncomfortable. She had been able to beat Dean to the restaurant and was considering ordering something much stronger than water. During her night of sleeplessness, she had come to the realization that she couldn't keep seeing Dean. She couldn't keep using him as a distraction from what she really had to deal with. She hadn't been sure when she would do it but when he called her; it had seemed to be the perfect opportunity.

Caroline looked up when she saw movement out of her eye and saw Dean approaching her. He had leaned into kiss her in greeting but she had quickly turned her head so his lips only grazed her cheek. She couldn't help but notice the lack of sparks it had created, unlike when Klaus had kissed her hand.

Thankfully, the waitress had come up then to introduce herself and get their drink orders so she didn't have to look at him to see his reaction to her action. Once they were alone again, Dean had launched right into a conversation and she figured he had ignored it or not noticed. She tried to keep up on her end of their dialogue but found herself rambling most of the time. She waited until most of the food had been eaten, before she took a deep breath. "Dean, the reason I suggested us meeting here wasn't for a second date."

Dean's forehead furrowed in confusion so she continued before he could interrupt. "You're a really nice, very cute guy and I had a good time last night."

"But?"

"But I can't go out with you again." Caroline answered.

"I don't understand."

"When I agreed to go out with you, it wasn't just because you're a good-looking guy, which you are, but because I was using you. There is someone else, I mean I'm not with someone else…I am trying to get over someone and thought that going out with you would do it. But I realized that it wasn't fair to you. I am sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Caroline stated. She sat back and waited to see how he would react. She didn't blame him if he was seriously pissed off. For several agonizing minutes, they sat there in silence.

"I have to say this was the opposite of how I expected this lunch to go." Dean replied. "And I can't say that hearing you only went out with me to get over someone else doesn't sting a bit."

"I'm really sorry, Dean." Caroline interrupted.

"I can see that." Dean responded before standing up. He pulled out his wallet and threw some bills on the table before Caroline could interject. "You don't have to do that."

Dean held up his hand to stop her argument. "Even if you came to call things off, I'm the one that asked you out so I'm not sticking you with the bill."

"Dean…" But Caroline wasn't sure what to say. Instead, she just watched as he moved away from the table and left the restaurant. She felt horrible for dragging him into this mess but knew it would only be worse if she hadn't told him the truth. After the kiss with Klaus last night, she knew that using Dean from the beginning wasn't fair and now at least she had put that right. She quickly settled the bill before leaving as well; she had a few hours to kill before going home so she headed towards Bonnie's.

/

Klaus was coming down the stairs when Caroline walked in. She looked surprised to see him but gave him a hesitant smile. "Hey."

"Hello." He replied as he continued down. He waited to say more until he reached the bottom.

"The twins have been down for about a half an hour."

Caroline nodded. "I would have been back sooner, but I was with Dean."

"Oh."

"I broke things off with him."

Klaus felt a huge smile itching to cross his face but he did his best to hold it back. "Is that what you wanted?"

She nodded at his question before she moved forward. "I did it so I could have what I wanted."

As she moved closer to him, Klaus noticed she had a piece of something in her hair. He reached out and tossed it away but didn't remove his hand. He caressed her soft hair and his breath caught when she leaned into his touch. Touching her was hypnotic and addictive at the same time. He didn't know if he would ever get enough; he wanted to touch every part of her. Caroline seemed to be reveling in the feel of his touch as well. Before he knew what she was doing, she reached one hand up for the back of his neck and brought his head down for a kiss.

His arms moved around her to pull her hard to him, to press her body fully against him. His lips moved against hers, hard, demanding, his tongue moved over her lips, to request entrance, and moved inside her mouth urgently, when she responded in kind. Her hands moved up from his neck, and she ran her fingers through his hair.

He pressed her body more fully to his, and heard her groan as her hips moved against his. Her hands moved from his hair, down his broad shoulders, one moved lower to grab hold of his ass and pushed him against her more.

Klaus pulled away from the kiss, and looked down into Caroline's eyes, the want clearly visible in her features. His hands went to the side of her face, his thumb tracing her lips now swollen from his kiss.

"Caroline..." He said his voice deep, and full of need.

Caroline looked up at him and smiled as she moved her hands to the front of his chest, her fingers stroking his flesh through his shirt, making him close his eyes and groan slightly. When he opened his eyes back up, she spoke, "Klaus... I want you."

That was it, those words were his undoing, and his mouth went back to her. His mouth plundered hers, his teeth nipping at her lower lip, his tongue swirling against hers, his lips moving hard against her lips, and she welcomed it. Like the night before, he reached down and grabbed her thighs before lifting her up. Caroline responded instantly, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. With her securely against him, he carried her quickly up the stairs. He would have taken her on any and every surface downstairs but considering how they had been interrupted the night before, it wasn't the best plan.

He moved towards his bedroom, opening the door as he pushed her against it, kissing her deeply. She loosened her legs around him and lowered them so she was carrying her own weight. As she did, her hands moved to his shirt, and tugged it up. He helped to pull it up and over his head, and flung the article of clothing into the room. Her lips pressed against the newly exposed skin at the base of his neck, and sucked, marking it gently.

Her hands moved up over his chest, before they moved between them, her fingers fumbling with the button of his pants. Caroline popped the button from his pants, and quickly moved the zipper down, before her hands snaked their way inside the fabric. His hips jerked towards hers again as her hand found its way into his boxers and her fingers wrapped around his cock.

He moaned as she explored him, but Caroline moved her mouth away from his neck and back up to his mouth. He moved them away from the door, and he quickly found his way to the bed. He reluctantly pulled her hand out of his pants so that he could lower her to the bed. However once her hand was out of his pants, she used his grip on her wrist to reverse their positions before pushing him backwards on the bed. As he felt himself falling, he pulled her with him.

Klaus suddenly jolted awake when he hit the floor with a thud. He looked around confused when he found himself face to face with his living room rug, instead of Caroline on his bed. It came back to him quickly; the twins had been cranky so he had put them to bed a little early and then come down to wait for Caroline. He must have fallen asleep on the couch, considering the night he'd had before he wasn't surprised.

All of what had just happened between him and Caroline was in his head; it never happened. Yet he could still feel the heat from her body, the softness of her lips, her hands on his body; it had felt so real and the evidence was very apparent by the tightness of his jeans. He groaned in discomfort as he tried to adjust them but it didn't help. He briefly thought about going up to his bedroom and relieving some of the pressure but didn't think that was the best idea since Caroline could be there at any minute. That would make the start of their conversation extremely awkward. He glanced at his watch as he headed to the kitchen and saw that Caroline was late. He wondered if she had changed her mind about meeting him.

He turned the faucet on cold and once he removed his watch, ran the cold water over his wrists to calm down his body's reaction to his dream. A cold shower was out of the question as well due to time constraints so this was the next best thing. Between that and purposely thinking of anything he could that was the opposite of arousing, he got himself under control just as he heard the front door open. Knowing she would go looking for him in the living room, he called out to her. She appeared a minute coming through the doorway and into the kitchen. "Hey."

"Good evening," Klaus replied as he came around the counter towards her. "I was beginning to think that you weren't coming."

"Sorry, I was at Bonnie's and got stuck in traffic on my way back," Caroline explained. She had gone to Bonnie's after her breakup lunch with Dean to avoid coming back to the house and possibly get some clarity. However, Bonnie had jumped her as soon as she had walked in the door, asking all kind of questions in regards to her date with Dean. Caroline had thought about telling her everything but knew that it could possibly lead to a lecture from Bonnie about how she had warned Caroline about getting too close. True that lecture was more likely to come from Elena but she didn't want to risk it. A lecture was the last thing she had wanted at the time so instead she had lied to Bonnie and simply told her that the date hadn't worked out.

"Shall we go into the living room?"

"Um, why can't we talk right here?" Caroline asked as she moved past him and farther into the kitchen, remembering what had happened in the living room the last time they had been alone together. The kitchen seemed...safer.

Klaus could see by the way her eyes darted around and the way she was twisting her hands that she was nervous at the idea of them in the same setting as the events in which had created this situation and he couldn't help but smirk. "Worried that little talking will get done?"

"No! I mean..." Caroline answered a little too quickly before she realized that he was teasing. She knew she wasn't giving herself enough credit. She could resist him. She moved by him again, heading into the living room when he reached out towards her. She stopped suddenly when she felt his hand grab her wrist. She looked down at where his hand was on her arm before looking back up at him in surprise.

"Caroline, you have my word, nothing but talking," Klaus said to ease her mind.

She could see the sincerity in his eyes so she nodded. "Okay."

Klaus reluctantly released her arm as they moved to go into the living room. He watched as she moved to one of the couches while he glanced over at his liquor cabinet. He thought about getting them a drink but decided against it. He had had plenty of liquor the night before.

So instead, he moved to the couch opposite of her and sat down. He looked at Caroline and he didn't think he had ever seen her so uneasy. "Is the idea of talking to me truly so nerve-wracking? You look so skittish, like any second some loud noise would make you bolt."

Caroline huffed before she rolled her eyes at his statement. "Well excuse me if I'm not completely comfortable at the moment. I've never been in a situation like this before."

"Well I figured as much, otherwise your file would be a bit longer due to sexual harassment reports." Klaus replied. He meant the statement to be teasing but by the annoyance that sprang into Caroline's eyes and the redness blossoming on her cheeks; she didn't think it was funny. He had meant the statement in jest to get her to relax but it had done quite the opposite.

"Seriously?" Caroline exclaimed. Had he really just said what he said? Did he actually just suggest that she had a history of kissing her bosses? Or insinuate that it was her fault? "You kissed me first!"

"That I did." Klaus admitted but that didn't seem to lessen the fury that his words had incurred.

"Then you admit it!" Caroline exclaimed, as she rose from her seat.

"Admit that I kissed you? Yes, I admit it. Why wouldn't I?" Klaus asked, as he too rose from his spot so that they were face to face.

"Because you can't just go around kissing me!" Caroline stated. "One minute we were arguing and then out of nowhere, you just..,"

"I don't regret it," Klaus said cutting her off mid-rant.

Caroline felt her mouth drop open at his admission. She could only stare at him as he moved forward. Like the night before, when he kissed her, he came up and cupped her face while looking her dead in the eyes.

"Maybe I should have gone about expressing myself differently, but I don't regret kissing you or anything else that happened after I did. The only thing I regret is that we were interrupted." Klaus confessed as he looked into her eyes.

She wanted so badly for him to lean in and kiss her again or for her to do it herself but instead she brought her hands up over his and pulled them away from her face. "It can't happen again."

Now it was Klaus' turn to be surprised. "You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do."

"If I recall, you kissed me back. As a matter of fact, you were the one who pulled me back when I released you." Klaus argued. "You wanted me as much as I wanted you. And I know that you still want me, like I want you."

Caroline let go of his hands and stepped away, trying to put some distance between them. "I work for you, I live here and take care of your kids and that's it. I love my job, my career. I love Lexi and Henry and I can't risk losing all of that for a fling."

Klaus moved towards her again but when she retreated, he momentarily paused in his pursuit of her for fear that she might run away again. "Do you really think that low of me? That I only want to be in some tawdry affair with you"

Despite the fact that Caroline could see a little bit of hurt in his eyes, she couldn't stop the words as they came out of her mouth. "Isn't it?"

"No. If that was all I wanted from you, I would have tried to get you into my bed months ago." Klaus answered angrily. "I care about you. I might not have fully realized how much I care for you until yesterday, but I do."

Caroline closed her eyes for a moment in despair at his declaration. Was he really admitting that he cared about her? She thought maybe it was possible, but she had been trying to convince herself that her feelings were only one sided and, if anything, he only wanted a tumble and nothing more. How was she supposed to be sensible when the guy she had feelings for said he felt the same way? And if he did truly have those feelings, what if he just cared about the idea of her? "How do you know that what you feel is really for me?"

Klaus looked at her confused so she elaborated. "What if whatever you are feeling isn't for me, but because of our situation? Think about it. We have physical chemistry, I won't deny that so it means that you are living with someone you are attracted to, who loves your kids and spends a lot of time with you. That kind of intimacy could create false feelings."

"No, it's not just because you are here. I fancy you, is that so hard to believe?" Klaus asked. Why was she being so stubborn about this? She obviously felt the same way, or she wouldn't be questioning his intentions so much.

"Yes." Caroline answered. This conversation was not how she had planned for it to happen. On her way home from Bonnie's she had planned out exactly what she wanted to say and then he opened his mouth and all of her planning went to hell. He wasn't supposed to be fighting her on this so much.

Klaus could see the warring emotions in her eyes. She had convinced herself that he had only been interested in her for sex and nothing else. And now that he admitted to wanting more, she wasn't as confident in her argument as she had been when they started. "Why not? You're strong, you're beautiful, you light up the room with your smile, you look at Lexi and Henry as if they are the most important children in the world and I have no doubt you would do anything for them."

"I would." Caroline whispered. It was the truth, over the last few months she had fallen for them as much as she had fallen for their father.

"Then take a chance Caroline. There is something between us, something more than just desire. I enjoy the time I spend with you, but I want to be more than just a friend. I want to be able to touch you, hold you, kiss you, make love to you..."

Caroline felt heat rush through her body at his words, his voice deep and seductive and she sucked in a shaky breath.

Klaus heard her reaction to his words and knew he was affecting her but he wanted to remind her that he wanted more than a bedmate. "I want to make love to you," he said again, "just as much as I want to wrap my arms around you on the couch while the four of us watch a movie, hug you when we are cheering for Lexi, or hold your hand when we take the kids to the park."

Her heart felt like it was both fluttering and breaking at the same time. She wanted so much to lean in and kiss him. But she knew she couldn't give in. If she did and things didn't work out, she would lose everything; him, the twins, possibly her career. When things ended between them, she would have to look for a new job, and the agency would know about their relationship. It would leave a black mark on her record and if all that happened, she didn't think she would recover. "I have to listen to my head and not my heart. I'm sorry but I can't risk my career."

"Is your career more important than us? Jobs come and go. Who says you would have to find another job? Why do you have to be so pessimistic about us?" Klaus demanded.

"Because I have to be," Caroline retorted. "Otherwise I'd risk putting myself into a situation where I could lose everything!"

"So you want to just forget what happened last night and go back to the way things were?"

"Yes," Caroline answered.

"We can't...I can't Caroline!"

"If you can't respect my decision and remain just my friend, then as much as it would break my heart, maybe I shouldn't be here."

"I thought you said you didn't want to risk losing Lexi and Henry? Call me confused but wouldn't you leaving be doing just that?" Klaus argued.

"Yes, it would. But I also don't want to put them in the middle of this either." Caroline explained. "It would be unfair to them and make everyone involved miserable. Neither one of us wants that."

Her words took the fire out of Klaus' anger. If he kept pressing her, making her awkward and uncomfortable then she would leave. Then he would lose her forever. He could see she felt the same way he did; he just needed to give her time. He could be patient. "Fine."

"Fine?" Caroline repeated, surprised that he had agreed so quickly.

"Yes, fine. That is the answer you wanted isn't it?" Klaus asked.

"It's what is best."

At hearing her answer, Klaus decided to forgo his earlier decision to not have a drink, and walked over to the liquor cabinet. As he poured himself a drink, he couldn't help but feel disappointed with himself. There was a part of him that recognized, and understood, where Caroline was coming from. He had been thinking solely about himself and that had proved to not be the best plan of action in the past.

He took a sip of his drink before looking up and meeting her eyes. "Possibly. After all, I don't want to be responsible for my children losing another woman in their lives."

Klaus' statement and the tone of his voice caused the hair on Caroline's arm stand up. There was something more behind his statement than just what she said about possibly leaving. She wasn't sure if he would tell her but she had to ask. "Klaus, what do you mean by that?"

"Tatia, of course."

Now feeling even more confused, Caroline kept going. "Klaus, you weren't responsible for Tatia leaving. From what you told me she made the choice to leave the three of you"

He paused for a moment, he hadn't planned on having this conversation but now, there was no going back. Caroline wasn't one to let something slip by her so he explained. "She chose to leave us, but it was my selfish actions that drove her to make it."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.

Klaus contemplated how to answer her question. It would be best to start at the beginning. "After my parents were killed, my siblings and I met with their lawyer for the reading of the will. I had of course already been disowned but the lawyer requested that I still be in attendance. At the reading, my parents' estate was divided equally between my four siblings."

"Then why did the lawyer insist on you being there?" Caroline asked confused. She had no idea how this connected with Tatia leaving but now that he was talking, she couldn't help but want more answers.

"Because my father had a special message for me. He left a letter for the lawyer to read; in it he revealed that I was not his son." Klaus answered as he remembered how he felt the day the rug had been pulled out from under him, the day his life would change forever. "My mother had an affair and I was the product of her infidelity. And for that reason alone, he hated me until the day he died."

"But why? It wasn't your fault; it was your mother's. He shouldn't have hated you, he should have divorced her and left," Caroline argued.

"He couldn't. The money in our family comes from her side and if he divorced her, he would be broke. So he stayed with her, kept the secret and later had Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik. When he had the opportunity to move us away from England and my mother's family, he did and we ended up here. But he didn't want me to live the rest of my life in blissful ignorance if he could help it. Since he was dead, and had nothing to lose, so he left one last hateful message," Klaus explained.

"I'm so sorry."

Klaus nodded in acknowledgement of her words. "I tell you that not for sympathy but to explain the cause behind my own sins."

"When I found out about my paternity, I felt...unwanted. I thought my siblings would look at me different, I thought I had lost them. They are such a big part of my life; I couldn't handle the thought of being alone. So I decided to start my own family." He declared.

Klaus hesitated before he continued. He knew when he started this conversation that it would come out but now that it had reached the moment of truth, he faltered Would she hate him once he told her? He couldn't blame her if she did. "I...I tampered with the birth control... we were using to make sure Tatia got pregnant even though I knew she didn't want to be."

Caroline's eyes widened in shock at his revelation. "Klaus, tell me you didn't."

"Then I would be lying."

"Did she ever find out?" Caroline asked.

"She didn't discover what I had done until the night I caught her with Elijah. I told you that I lashed out at her, to hurt her like I was hurting. She was in shock. She yelled at me that I only wanted her as a breeder and that I didn't care about her. I tried to explain my state of mind at the time, but she wouldn't listen and I can't blame her. It didn't help my case when I told her I wanted a divorce. She might have been the one to leave, but I'm responsible for my children being motherless. I don't for one-second regret the twins, but I do feel guilty about my actions. My selfishness brought them into this world but also left them without their mother." He acknowledged. He stared at her, as she absorbed what he had told her. For once, her thoughts not easy to read. "Caroline, say something."

"I'm not sure what to say at the moment," Caroline stated honestly. He had just told her his deepest darkest secret and she wasn't sure what to think, about him or the information he'd shared with her. As a woman, she couldn't deny that she was disgusted by what he had done. However, she understood the devastation he must have felt after learning that the man he'd believed was his father wasn't in reality, and fear that his siblings, the people whom he was closest with and cared most for, might turn their backs on him. Did that excuse what he did? No, it didn't.

But Caroline also knew how much he **deeply** loved his children. They were his world and he would do anything for them, even if it meant even if that meant sacrificing his own life for them. It wasn't as if he was some evil villain who impregnated his wife just to further some hidden agenda or evil plan, he wanted a family that would love him unconditionally when he thought his no longer would. No, he did everything he could to be the best father he could, even if the methods to get them to be conceived were less than honorable.

Once she was able to finally get a handle on her thoughts, she spoke. "What you did was horrible, you took away her control over her body but... it was still Tatia's choice to leave. She had other options; she could have stayed and raised them with you platonically, or she could have fought you for custody. They didn't ask to be born, like many other babies, but instead she ran away and abandoned them."

Klaus could hear the conviction in her voice at her statement and knew she was trying to convince him of her argument. The argument where she tried to take the guilt that he had been harboring for years and make sense of it. He couldn't believe that he had told her his darkest sin and she was trying to make him feel better.

And she wondered why he cared about her?

Caroline couldn't tell if what she had said had done any good, but he seemed to have relaxed a little. She wanted to think that was because he had accepted her argument and taken some of the weight off of his shoulders.

This evening had been intense to say the least and that coupled with her sleepless night before, Caroline felt exhaustion weighing down on her. She felt like she had worked things out with Klaus and they had come to an understanding and now all she wanted to do was go to bed. She looked over where Klaus was nursing his drink. "I'm going to go to bed."

She turned and headed out towards the staircase when Klaus' voice stopped her. "Caroline, I might have agreed to just be friends, but that doesn't mean that I will forget last night or how I feel for you. Perhaps one day you'll get past your fears and see not what you could lose but what you could gain."

Somehow, Caroline found the willpower to not turn around and continued upstairs despite the way his words clenched her heart. She knew if she has looked at him, she wouldn't be able to walk away and she had to; she had to be smart about this.

As she headed to her room, she passed by Henry's door and saw him splayed out on the bed, with the covers askew. He had a habit of kicking them off at night so she went inside to pull them back over him so that he wouldn't get cold. When she reached out to pull them back up, Henry stirred a little in his sleep and looked up at her. "Caroline..."

"Go back to sleep sweetie, it's late."

"Okay..." Henry replied sleepily. "Love you."

No sooner had the words fallen from his lips, and he was back asleep. Caroline felt tears springing to her eyes though and she wiped them away quickly before leaning over to kiss the top of his head. "Love you too sweetie."

She left his room then and headed to her own; unable to shake the feeling that Klaus was right. He warned her that her cynicism was holding her back and keeping her from seeing something she could gain. Maybe he was right, and if she reconsidered her decision and gave in, she'd see everything that a relationship could offer. She would have him and the twins.

She suddenly remembered the woman she had seen wrapped around Klaus the night before, and she couldn't help the doubt that washed over her. Why hadn't she asked him about the woman when they had been talking? She wasn't mad per se at him, he was single and could do what he wanted but it still hurt.

Caroline sat on her bed and put her head in her hands, feeling more conflicted and confused than ever.

**Well are you guys mad at me? You didn't think it was going to be that easy for them to get together did you? Oh, and I promise, I will not take another 25 parts to bring them together. **

**Sorry about the dream, I promise it will be the last one. I couldn't help myself.**

**What did you think about the part? Caroline breaking up with Dean? Her talk with Klaus? The last piece of Klaus' history with Tatia? It is my take on his whole hybrid story line in the show. I hope I don't lose any readers for that part.**

**Also, this part exhausted me to write, so I haven't even started on the next one. I hope to do so soon but just wanted to give you guys the heads up. Plus track season started this week for my oldest so I'll be spending a good 8 hours a week at the field which will cut down on my writing time. **


	29. Part 28 Twins' Speak

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies! We might not get TVD and Klaroline tonight but I'm updating so you guys at least get something. **

**The reviews I got on the last part were fantastic! Everyone was surprised by Klaus' past actions but none seem to hate him too much. I'm glad, I had planned that from the beginning and was a little worried how it would be accepted.**

**I want to thank Chetopat for a suggestion she put into her review. She is who gave me the idea for the first section of this part. Also big thanks to my mistresses a-little-blonde-distraction, jomosfamilyjewels and klarolineepiclove for their help on this part. And CeceVolume for being my wonderful beta. If you are not following them on Tumblr, go do it now! **

TOHFMIY Part 28-Twins' Speak

'Something weird was going on with Caroline and Dad.' Lexi couldn't help but think as she watched her father cleaning up from dinner. He was seemed to be normal now but earlier when he got home from work, he acted like a stranger with Caroline. And Caroline acted the same way. Most of the time when her dad came home and Caroline was cooking, he would go into the kitchen with her and talk. When dinner was ready the four of them would sit down and talk about their day. Then sometimes afterwards Caroline would hang out with them and have fun.

But over the last couple of days, they acted like they didn't like each other. In the mornings, Caroline would move around the kitchen getting breakfast ready and their lunches packed while her dad just sat at the table with them. And when he got home, Caroline would just finish what she was doing before she would go up to her bedroom or leave the house completely. When they did talk, Daddy's voice sounded like it did when he was upset and trying to not to yell at them and Caroline didn't smile. And Caroline smiled a lot.

"Daddy? Do you need any more help?" Lexi asked him politely. She had already helped him clear off the table and stuff and didn't think there was anything else. But if she wanted to leave the kitchen, she knew she had to ask.

"No, sweetheart, I'm just about finished. You can go and play for a little bit before bed."

Lexi nodded before she got up and went searching for Henry. She needed to talk to him. She found him in his room reading a book. She shut the door so no one would hear them before she plopped down next to her twin. When he didn't look away from his book, she poked him. "Henry…"

But he didn't do anything, he just kept reading so she poked him again. "Henry…"

After she poked him again, she grabbed his book to get his attention. "Henry!"

"Hey!" Her brother protested as his book was ripped away from him. Lexi could be such a mean brat when she didn't get attention. "Give it back."

Lexi closed his book, before tossing it behind her so that he couldn't get it without going through her. That way she knew he would pay attention. "You can read later. We need to talk, it's serious."

"What?" Henry growled, not happy that she was interrupting him.

"Dad and Caroline."

"Why?" Henry asked confused. "I thought Caroline went out."

"She did." Lexi huffed. "That's what's wrong. She left. She usually eats dinner with us and stuff."

"Not always." Henry responded. Caroline usually did stay around after dinner and spend time with them but there were times when she went out with her friends no matter how much they begged her to stay. He had even spilled his milk on her once to try and get her to stay but it hadn't worked. She had just changed and then left. Maybe he needed to try something else.

"No but a lot." Lexi retorted. "Caroline and Dad aren't talking to each other. Like at all."

"Are they mad at each other? Cause you know when Caroline gets mad, she gets quiet. It's kind of scary, scarier than when Dad is mad. Dad at least talks to you and you know why he's mad. Caroline is quiet and you don't know what she's thinking." Henry stated truthfully. It was true, when their dad got upset with them, his face got real serious and his voice got deep which could be scary, but Caroline would just look at them and not say anything. Sometimes that was worse than being yelled at.

Lexi shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. I heard them fighting when I woke up the other night when Aunt Kat was babysitting us."

"You did?"

"Yep." Lexi answered as she nodded. "I went down to see cause they were yelling at each other. But then they got quiet and then a thud like something hit the wall. I think Caroline hit her knee or something because I heard her kind of whimper a little after."

"What did you do?" Henry asked. If it had happened to him, it would freaked him out and he probably would have ran back upstairs.

"I yelled down to Daddy, what do you think?" Lexi answered him. "I think he was mad about something because when he came up, his hair was sticking up everywhere like it does when he's mad and he runs his hands through it."

"Did he get mad that you were up?"

"No, I told him that I heard him and Caroline fighting and asked him if they made up. But he didn't know and I don't think they did because now they aren't talking."

"Guess not." Henry shrugged before his eyes got really big and Lexi thought he looked like he was scared. "You don't think she'll leave do you? I mean if her and Dad are mad at each other..."

"She's not going to leave." Lexi interrupted, cutting him off.

"But she might. I don't want her to leave." Henry declared, his fists coming down on his knees to show his frustration. "I mean, like ever."

"She's not going to leave. She loves being here, she tells us all of the time." Lexi reminded him. Henry was just being dramatic, like he always was. Caroline wasn't going to leave because she was mad at their dad. If that happened, her aunt would have left her Uncle Elijah when they fought.

"She's...it's like having a mom, Lex. At least what it looks like with other moms. I love having her here." Henry said. Caroline was great; she laughed at the jokes he tried to tell, listened to him talk about animals when no one else would, even read his book about the migratory patterns of African Wildlife to him when he was sick. The only other person who did that was his dad. Ayanna had listened but he knew she was only pretending. He didn't even mind when she made him eat stuff he didn't want to or take a bath. Well most of the time he didn't mind. "Maybe her and Dad can get married or something."

"Dad and Caroline are friends and friends don't marry each other." Lexie stated with a roll of her eyes.

"Well maybe they still could." Henry argued.

"Yeah, like that's going to happen." Lexi snorted. She knew why he wanted them to get married, he wanted Caroline to be their mom. She might have wished for Caroline to be their mom too but she never said it out loud. But she wasn't going to get her hopes up for something that wouldn't happen.

"Well if they are mad at each other, what do you want us to do about it?" Henry asked.

Lexi shrugged. "I don't know."

"You know Dad will just blow it off if we ask him about it." Henry stated.

"And Caroline will probably just say it's nothing." Lexi added

"Maybe we should ask someone?"

"But who?"

The two of them stared at each other for a minute before they answered together. "Aunt Kat."

/

Caroline was putting dishes away when she heard a noise from the front of the house and knew that the front door had opened. She was the only one in the house and knew that she had locked it earlier so that meant one of two things; either someone had broken in or one of Klaus' family members had stopped by. Considering that the bell had not been rang, that pretty much left one person who it could be. "Katherine?"

"Who else?" She heard the voice call back. Katherine appeared in the kitchen a few minutes later, surprisingly alone. "Where's Daniel?"

"Preschool." The brunette answered. "We started him going every morning for a half a day instead of just a few times a week. But I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to talk to you about two other Mikaelson kids."

"What are you talking about?" Caroline asked confused.

"I got an interesting phone call from Lexi and Henry last night." Katherine explained.

"They called you?"

"Yep. According to them you and Klaus have been acting 'weird', their words not mine by the way." Katherine elaborated. "While I think all kids probably think the adults in their lives are weird, this time they seem to be really worried. They think the two of you are mad at each other for some reason."

"Why do they think that?" Caroline asked.

"Lexi said that she heard the two of you arguing after I left the other night and that you two haven't been talking ever since." Katherine answered. To say that she had been surprised when she had picked up the phone the night before and heard her niece and nephew on the other end was an understatement. Her mind had automatically went to worry thinking it was an emergency but she was relieved when she found out that while something was wrong, it wasn't life threatening. Once she had calmed her racing heart, she had listened as the twins explained why they had called.

Katherine remembered the mood she left Klaus in on Saturday night so she hadn't been surprised when she had learned that Klaus and Caroline had gotten into some kind of argument after Caroline got back from her date. She was curious as to what had happened and what was said.

Caroline took a minute to absorb what Katherine had told her. The last few days had been torture for Caroline. Despite agreeing to be friends with Klaus, they were acting like anything but.

She shouldn't have been surprised that the kids had picked up on the current tension between her and Klaus, the twins were perceptive. Of course, the fact that her and Klaus had been completely ignoring each other since their talk the other day was anything but subtle. "Alright, thanks Katherine. I appreciate it."

Katherine's eyebrow rose in question. "That's all you are going to say? 'Thanks Katherine'? Yeah, I don't think so. What happened the other night?"

"Nothing, we got into an argument because he didn't like that I was dating one of his employees..."

"Wait a minute, you were dating someone who works at Originals? Who?" Katherine asked.

"Dean." Caroline answered.

"Nice." Katherine said with a smile. Caroline hadn't told her the other night who she had been going out with, just that it was a good looking guy who had asked her to dinner, she really should have pressed the blonde to tell her though she knew that Klaus' issue wasn't who she was dating, but that she was dating at all.

"Lexi overheard, interrupted and that ended things." Caroline explained. Her statement wasn't a complete lie, she just didn't tell Katherine the whole story.

"Mmmnn." Katherine replied, she didn't quite believe Caroline. "So why are you two not talking?"

"Katherine, I know that you came over to help the twins, but I'm not talking about this. I will take care of it so that they don't have to worry anymore." Caroline stated. "But as for what is going on, it's not really your business."

Katherine was surprised by the determination in Caroline's voice. She had assumed that she would be able to come over and wheedle out the whole story from Caroline. She had always been able to coax things out of people, even when they didn't want to but Katherine could see that the other woman wasn't going to budge. "You know that by not telling me, you're just fueling my imagination. And that very active imagination is telling me that something more than an argument happened between you and my dear brother in law."

Caroline did her best to keep her face unreadable as Katherine studied her for a reaction. While Katherine had speculated, correctly, what had happened between her and Klaus, she knew nothing definite and if she gave her any indication that she was right, Caroline would never hear the end of it. And she didn't really want to deal with that when she already had to deal with what Katherine had told her about the twins. Having the twins caught in the middle was exactly what she had been trying to avoid. "You can think that if you want, but again, not your business."

The brunette put her hands up in defeat, for the moment anyways. "Okay, fine. I came over to relay the concerns of the twins, and I've done that. I'll trust you to fix whatever the hell needs fixing. If they call me again though, I won't stop digging."

Hours later, Caroline was again in the kitchen this time cooking dinner. She hadn't said anything to Lexi and Henry yet, instead deciding it would be better to talk to Klaus first. Of course that didn't mean that she didn't have butterflies in her stomach when she heard him coming in.

"I'm home." Klaus called out as he entered the house. While he expected to hear one of his children call back to him, he was surprised when he heard Caroline's voice call out to him. He went to the kitchen and was greeted by a small smile from her. "Hi."

Klaus knew he had missed her smile, but he hadn't realized how much until he saw it. He couldn't help but smile back at her. "Hello."

"Dinner is almost ready and the kids are down in the playroom, but I was wondering if we could talk for a minute?" Caroline asked.

"Of course." Klaus replied, surprised again by her sudden desire to speak to him. He knew she wasn't the only guilty party when it came to the distance between them but her willingly engaging him in conversation was an improvement.

"Katherine came by today. The twins called her about you and I, I mean about us not...They noticed that we haven't exactly been talking much and think we are mad at each other. They were worried." Caroline explained nervously as she tried to ignore the way her heart rate sped up when he had smiled at her. She turned away from him to reach up into one of the cabinets to retrieve a serving bowl.

News that Lexi and Henry were concerned about the two of them was news to him. True, he had noticed Lexi studying him a little last night but when she hadn't said anything, he assumed it was nothing. He didn't like that he hadn't picked up on their unease.

When Caroline turned away from him, his gaze followed her and he couldn't keep his eyes from roaming over her form as she stretched to get something from a high cupboard. When he saw her struggling a bit, he moved around the counter to help.

Caroline had to stifle a gasp when she felt his hard warm body press up behind her. He had her pinned between him and the counter and she couldn't escape him. She had to keep herself from thinking about how well he fit against her, or how good it would feel to lean back into him. Instead she opened her mouth to ask what he was doing when his arms came up beside hers and grabbed the bowl she had been going for. He was just helping her that was all. Of course that didn't stop her from admiring the way his forearms flexed briefly above her, reminding her of how his forearms had felt as they flexed against her body when he had run his hands down her body before lifting her up and pinned her to the wall.

As he reached for the bowl she appeared to be going for, he caught a light fruity scent coming from Caroline's hair and couldn't help but breathe in deeply. He also noticed how soft her body felt against him, and he thought of the other day when she was pressed against him in a different way. This was why he had been avoiding her, things were just too fresh.

Since he was still behind her and she couldn't move much, Caroline turned her head to look at him. "Thank you."

Klaus nodded as he caught her eyes. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever before he realized he didn't need to be standing so close to her, even if he wanted to. However he respected her and took a step back. "You're welcome."

She smiled again at him as she turned around so they were face to face. "Um, I didn't say anything to the kids about Katherine's visit."

"Good that is probably for the best." Klaus replied. "It's not surprising that they perceived the tension we created."

"This isn't what I meant to happen when we talked the other day. I didn't mean we should act like strangers." Caroline clarified.

"Of course not." He responded. "My apologies for my part."

"It's not your fault, I haven't exactly been hanging around to chat either. And it ended up making them uncomfortable, which is what I wanted to avoid. So in an effort to get things back to normal, I thought I'd have dinner with the three of you." Caroline suggested. "If that's okay?"

"Yes, it is. I think it is a good idea, a small step." Klaus agreed, and after dinner he would talk to Lexi and Henry as well. He wanted to make sure that they knew things were fine and to come to him if they were worried about something.

"Great," Caroline replied, her face lighting up with a larger smile. That had gone better and easier than she had thought it would. She just needed to approach it the right way. They were adults, it was silly to try and ignore the other one. It had been her choice to stay here and not enter into a 'relationship' with Klaus so she needed to do what was necessary to live with that decision. "If you want to go get them, I'll get the food out on the table and we can eat."

"Awfully bossy now aren't you love?" Klaus teased but it didn't stop him from doing what she requested. When he saw a blush blossom across her cheeks, he couldn't keep the smirk off his face while he went to retrieve the twins. Things were getting back to normal, which was nice considering it would be hard for her to change her mind if she didn't talk to him.

**AN: Reviews are my crack so please leave one and let me know what you think! You guys got the twins, Katherine, and Klaroline in one part! And for those who were curious, there will more of the Mikaelsons in upcoming chapters. After all, Rebekah's wedding to Stefan is coming up. Thanks for reading.**


	30. Part 29 Confrontations

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies, sorry that this part is a little late this week, if you follow me on Tumblr you know that the delay was due to the fact that my husband and I are dealing with the probability of putting our dog that we've had for over a decade to sleep. **

**I'm glad to see that the part through the twins' eyes was well accepted. Thinking like two 7 year olds, even as smart as these two are, was not an easy task. **

**Thanks to jomosfamilyjewels, klarolineepiclove, and Melanoradrood for their help with this part. Gottabeelove and Alys98 for listening to me ramble about how to do the part and CeceVolume for her continued help. **

**Also, I want to give you guys a quick apology. Earlier in the story, I said I would be getting the two of them some time around part 20 or so but you guys can see that didn't quite happen. This story has grown so much from when I first started writing it, some parts of the story are longer than I planned (Barbados was only supposed to be 2 parts) so I hope you don't think I've been leading you on, I will be getting them together.**

**Wow, that was a long note, onto the story.**

Part 29

"And unless you have anything more Mindy, I am going to wrap up for the day." Klaus stated.

Mindy's eyebrows went up in surprise as her eyes flickered to the clock. Her boss didn't usually leave early unless there was a pending engagement and she kept his calendar and therefore knew there wasn't. "No, that's all. Um, did I miss something on your schedule? I thought Stefan's bachelor party was tomorrow night?"

"It is. Caroline asked me if I could come home a little earlier than normal due to some plans she has this evening." Klaus explained.

He gave Mindy some last minute instructions before he turned back to his desk and started gathering his stuff. Caroline had made her request to him just that morning over breakfast and he had agreed to it without inquiring as to what the plans were. That fact hadn't bothered him until he arrived at his office and had a similar request from Dean. He should have assumed that her plans were with him. He had almost denied the man on the sole reason that if he did, then it would derail their plans and sabotage their time together. In the end, although he was jealous of the thought of them together, he still gave Dean the time he requested. If he hadn't, it would have caused problems with Caroline.

Things had been going well over the past couple of weeks, since they had talked in the kitchen. While there were times when it became tense or uncomfortable between the two of them especially if they were alone, they had fallen back into something similar to how they were before the incident in the living room. Caroline no longer ran from him when he was at the house, instead spending some time with them on the evenings when she wasn't busy. Klaus found this both good and bad, because while he enjoyed her company, he found being with her a huge test to his resolve to not overstep the boundaries they had set.

After shrugging on his coat, Klaus headed out of his office and through the workrooms beyond. He nodded to several employees along the way, noticing one in particular was already absent before heading out to exit the building. When he reached the parking lot, he saw that Dean had not left yet, in fact he was still by his car. But what surprised Klaus was that the other man currently had his arms wrapped around a woman, one that wasn't Caroline.

He stood there for a moment, watching the two of them interact. They seemed very comfortable together and Klaus' was hit by a surge of anger. While he did not know if Dean and Caroline had agreed to date each other exclusively, the idea that Dean did not seem to appreciate the fact that he had her, instead choosing to date other women as well, infuriated him.

Klaus had met Dean a few years ago, when he had delivered some crates to Klaus' office, and he had noticed that the man staring at a few of the pieces that were being worked on. It wasn't just with normal curiosity but also interest and fascination. Klaus had started a conversation with him then and had found out that Dean had some instruction in art but had not completed his school due to an unfortunate incident that had landed him prison at the young age of eighteen, which was how he had come to work as a deliveryman. Once learning that his crime was not something dangerous, Klaus had decided to take Dean under his employment. He had become a mentor of sorts and Dean had fit in well with the staff he had acquired. He felt he knew him well and seeing him in this situation was perplexing.

As he headed towards them, Dean noticed him and smiled. "Hey boss. I want you to…"

"We need to talk." Klaus announced, cutting Dean off. He looked at the woman with him and smirked a little. "Excuse us for a minute."

He didn't give either of them a chance to argue before he grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him away. Once they were a decent distance away, Klaus turned and faced Dean. "You are going to call Caroline and call things off with her. From that moment on, you do not talk, text, or see Caroline again. Are we clear?"

"Whoa, boss what…."

"Are we clear?" Klaus asked again.

"Yes." Dean answered, knowing that his boss wasn't going to listen unless he gave him an answer.

"Good." Klaus nodded in acceptance.

"But you should know, Caroline already broke things off between us." Dean informed him.

"She did?" Klaus asked surprised.

Dean nodded. "The day after I took her out for dinner."

It clicked then what Dean was saying, the day after his date with Caroline she had broken things off with him. Before she had met with him and stated that she couldn't risk taking a chance on him. He noticed that Dean was staring at him oddly, as if he was studying him. "What?"

"You're him huh?"

"I don't follow."

"When Caroline called things off with me, she said she had only gone out with me because she was trying to forget someone else, someone she wasn't with. Now with you coming up and threatening me, it isn't hard for me to put two and two together." Dean explained. "The two of you…"

Klaus kept the surprise off his face at Dean's words as he shook his head. "You're mistaken. I simply don't' want my employees fraternizing, especially when I believed one was not being dedicated to the other one."

"Sorry Boss but that's bullshit. I've worked for you for years and you've never opposed your employees dating as long as it didn't cause any issues." Dean declared, "Now you're a great boss, you've always been generous and committed to those who are loyal to you but the protectiveness of her tells me there's something else there."

Not wanting to clue Dean in on how right he was, Klaus brushed him off. "I've kept you from your lady friend, enjoy your evening."

"You too." Dean replied, knowing what his boss was doing but he let it slide. "And by the way, Kimberly the girl over there isn't my girlfriend, more like a sister."

Klaus nodded in acknowledgement as he watched Dean retreat back to his friend. While he was glad that Dean wasn't doing wrong by Caroline, he couldn't help but wonder who then was she going out with that night?

/

"Lexi! Did you pack your backpack up for tomorrow?"

"Yes!"

"Then why is it lying on the kitchen table with your homework next to it?" Caroline yelled back when she spotted said backpack from her spot in the foyer. She heard the clumping of feet behind her as Lexi came running down the stairs. Caroline couldn't help but smile a little at the noise; she wasn't sure how two small kids could sound so much like a herd of elephants.

Caroline glanced at her watch to check the time again while she sat on the bench by the front door. She wanted to be ready to head out the door as soon as Klaus came home. She reached down to pull on the boots she had left by the front door when she felt something wiggling inside the right one.

"Ah!" Caroline screamed, throwing the boot away. When it landed, she saw the source of the wiggling crawling out. "HENRY!"

Henry came running to the top of the stairs and looked down, his face lighting up in a smile. "Norbert! There you are!"

"Why is he out of his cage?"

"I got him out so I could clean his cage and so he could exercise like Dad told me to. He can't stay cooped up in his cage all of the time." Henry explained as he came down to retrieve the bewildered lizard while his sister giggled from the doorway.

"How did your dragon get down here?!" Caroline asked. "If you let him out, he should be in your room."

"Yeah, well…I might not have forgotten that I didn't shut the door before I got him out. I put him on the floor but when I turned back around he was gone." Henry explained.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Caroline demanded. Henry opened his mouth to answer but stopped when the door opened and his father entered.

Klaus was slightly surprised to find his twins and Caroline in the entryway; Lexi doubled over laughing, Henry holding his dragon, and Caroline standing nearby, her face slightly red. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he said, "Is there a particular reason why the three of you are loitering in the entryway?"

Caroline watched as Henry just shook his head before he rushed up the stairs with his dragon, hopefully to put him away in his cage, with Lexi trailing behind him still laughing. Caroline looked up at Klaus to explain. "It seems Norbert thought one of my boots was a good place to take a nap until my foot rudely woke him up."

When Klaus started to chuckle at her explanation, Caroline scowled at him. "It's not funny; it scared the crap out of me."

"Oh come on now love, it is at least a little bit funny." Klaus retorted.

Caroline just rolled her eyes before she got up to retrieve her boot. True, if it had happened to someone else, she probably would have laughed but with the memory of how it felt to have the dragon wiggling against her foot, all she could do was shudder. She sat back down on the bench and pulled on her boot, slowly. Norbert might be back upstairs but she was still being careful. "Well now that I've given you some entertainment for the evening, I'll just be heading out."

"Hold on for a moment." Klaus requested. "Why didn't you tell me that you had broken things off with Dean?"

Caroline was taken aback by the question but managed to answer. "I didn't know I was expected to inform you of my personal relationships or lack there of."

"Not expected, but it would have been nice of you to share that bit of information with me. Then perhaps I wouldn't have threatened Dean to stay away from you." Klaus explained. He watched as the slightly stunned expression in her eyes turned to one of anger.

"Why? Why would you do that?" Caroline snapped in irritation. Had he seriously threatened Dean to keep away from her? Was it some macho jealousy thing? Some kind of Alpha male thing? How dare he.

"When I was leaving, I saw Dean with a lady friend. The two of them looked to be quite cozy and since I believed that you and he were still seeing each other, I interceded on your behalf." Klaus explained. "I told him to stay away from you, that he was not to see or talk to you again. Imagine my surprise when he informed me that the two of you were no longer an item."

"You might have known that if you, I don't know, came and told me what you saw before you threatened him?" She demanded. "I could have told you that it wasn't necessary."

Klaus shrugged. "That might have been the logical thing to do but I wasn't exactly thinking rationally at that moment."

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't stand the idea of him hurting you." Klaus retorted.

Caroline closed and opened her mouth a few times, flabbergasted at his answer. She felt a surge of desire mixed with pleasure at the protectiveness he showed, both in the words and the way he said them. What could you say after hearing that? Not a lot, instead she felt herself melting and knew that wasn't a good thing. "I need to be going. Anna is waiting for me."

"Anna?" Klaus repeated.

Caroline nodded. "I've been helping her over the last few weeks with the end of season things at the gym so she wanted to go out to dinner tonight as a thank you."

"So that is who you've been meeting. I believed it to be Dean until earlier." Klaus stated before stepping in front of her to block her.

"What are you doing?" Caroline asked getting irritated at him again.

"Anna can wait a few more minutes." He professed. "We aren't done."

"We can talk about whatever else later." She announced before trying to step around him again but he only moved to match her steps and impede her course.

"You admitted to Dean that you went out with him to forget about someone else, and considering what went on between us the night before, I'm inclined to believe it was me that you were trying to forget. Am I correct?"

"Possibly." Caroline muttered.

Klaus smiled a little at her answer before he went on. "So I find myself very confused that. If you were so determined to not give us a try, why not continue dating Dean as a way to continue to distract yourself."

"Because it wasn't fair to him, to use him like that just to get over my feelings for you." Caroline answered but knew she had said too much. Things had been good between them over the past few weeks, a little strained on occasion whenever one of them brushed against the other, or they caught each other staring a little too long, but nothing about what had happened between them was brought up. Now she knew by mentioning what she felt for him, she had reopened that can of worms.

"But you have no problem disregarding those feelings." Klaus said as he took a step closer to her. "How is ignoring our feelings fair to you or I?"

"I'm not ignoring them." Caroline argued.

"Yet you're not taking a chance on us." He reminded, as he reached forward to play with the end of one of her curls.

"We talked about this." She stammered. "We agreed to just be friends."

"Yes, we did." Klaus replied. "I also said I wouldn't forget what I feel."

"If you have such strong feelings for me, why did you sleep with that woman I saw you with?" Caroline snapped.

Klaus reared back a little bit at her words, not expecting them. She had not said a word about what she had seen the night they had stumbled upon each other so he had assumed that either she didn't care or had blocked it considering what else had occurred that night. "What happened between Sophie and I was my way of dealing with seeing you with Dean. I was upset and bitter and she was a warm body to lose myself in. I didn't know at the time that my affections for you were returned."

Hearing his answer gave her mixed feelings, she liked that he had been jealous but didn't want to hear about him enjoying the other woman's body. "How do I know that you haven't been 'distracting' yourself with her while you wait for me to get over my 'pessimism?"

"I haven't seen Sophie since that night. I haven't wanted to." He countered as he moved to invade her space again, causing her to move backwards but he followed her. He saw the panicked look in her eyes but it didn't stop her. "There's only one woman that I want."

"Don't do this; things have been going so well." Caroline argued; feeling frustrated and trapped by where the conversation was going as much as his body in front of her. "No matter what I feel for you, I have to be smart about this so that I don't lose everything."

Klaus couldn't help but smirk a little. "And there is that pessimism of yours again. I'm curious sweetheart, why are you so sure that if we were together that we would end? I mean I know better than anyone how a relationship can fall apart but why are you so damned sure that we will?"

"I just know it will, we can't work." Caroline faltered.

"That's not a good enough answer Caroline. You have a specific reason or you wouldn't be so adamant about it. What is it? Why are you so damn sure?" Klaus demanded.

"Because I can't have children!" Caroline blurted out. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she felt tears coming to her eyes and her body sagged slightly. "My accident, it left me with more than just scars."

Of all of the reasons she could have told him, that was not one that had even remotely entered Klaus' mind. When Caroline had told him about her accident, he had just assumed that after she had been released from the hospital, she had no lasting issues aside from her scars. But he was very wrong. Caroline couldn't have children. He remembered from their previous discussion that she had said she'd love to have them and she couldn' saw the tears in her eyes and he suddenly felt horrible for pressing her. "I'm sorry."

Caroline saw the shock on his face as well as the sadness. "So you see why I think it couldn't work for us. You're a great dad who I don't doubt wants more kids and I can't give that to you."

"I'm sorry Caroline, so sorry." Klaus apologized. He wasn't sure if he was apologizing for pushing her or the situation but he couldn't think of anything else to say. She didn't want to pursue a relationship with him beyond friendship because she thought that he wouldn't want her knowing this information. He wasn't sure what to think about all of this, what she thought and what she had told him. It was a huge confession.

"Being a nanny, it's how I deal with not being able to have any of my own. I want to be with you but with knowing how it would end, I just can't risk it. It's not just a career to me and I can't lose it too." Caroline explained. She watched him for a minute before slipping out of his hold and heading towards the door. This time Klaus didn't stop her.

Klaus watched as she slipped away from him and walked out the door.

**Okay, are you still alive? I was told this part was bad for the heart. But at least you know now why Caroline is so intent on not losing her career and why she thinks that her and Klaus wouldn't work in the end.**

**On a funnier note, the whole part with Henry's dragon and Caroline actually happened to me, thankfully it was only a small lizard and not something bigger. And yes, his dragon's name comes from Harry Potter, my eight year old is currently reading the 3rd HP book and I figured Henry would have the same fascination as him. **


	31. Part 30 Opinion

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies...sorry it has been so long since an update. Real life has been getting in the way. I feel horrible for making you guys wait, especially in the aftermath of 4x20. I know some people who don't follow me on Tumblr were probably worried that I might have given up but nope! I will ship Klaroline forever. **

**Thank you klarolineepiclove, jomosfamilyjewels, and idiot-wind for their help and CeceVolume for checking everything over and helping me.**

**Now enjoy!**

Part 30

Klaus stood rooted to his spot for what seemed like hours though in reality it was only minutes before he snapped out of the shock. He knew he shouldn't have let her leave and he rushed to the door in the hopes that he could stop her. He knew she was on foot so hopefully he could catch her.

Since he wasn't sure where she had been heading, when he reached the sidewalk in front of the house, he looked both directions. There were a few people scattered around but he didn't see the bright blonde anywhere, she was gone. He briefly thought about heading to the closet 'T' station but he couldn't leave the twins unattended. He briefly thought about calling her and requesting that she come back but he had a feeling that she would say no or simply ignore his call. Instead he would wait for her to come home that night and talk to her, the next few days were going to be crazy due to his sister's wedding and he wouldn't have a chance otherwise until it was over.

When he reentered the house, he saw Henry was at the top of the stairs, frowning down at him. "What has you so upset? Did Norbert get loose again?"

"No." Henry answered. "Why were you and Caroline fighting? Again. I thought you said that you guys were friends."

Klaus closed his eyes in weariness. He should have known one of them would have heard the conversation and he should have waited until later to confront Caroline about his conversation with Dean. "We weren't fighting. We were having a discussion."

"A loud one. You yell at Lex and I if we raise our voices when we are talking." Henry replied, his arms coming up to cross over his chest. "If you guys keep fighting, Caroline is going to leave."

Henry's statement made Klaus stop his argument before the words could leave his mouth. He remembered when they had gone ice skating with Caroline and his son had said something similar. He was very worried that Caroline was going to leave them and Klaus felt dreadful for being a part of something that would add to his fears. "Come here."

Henry crept down the stairs until he was standing eye to eye with his father. "Henry, I'm sorry you had to hear that. I wasn't lying when I said we weren't fighting, we weren't. Things are just…complicated and we are trying to work things out. Adults argue sometimes."

"Like Aunt Kat and Uncle Elijah?"

"Yes, like them."

"And Uncle Kol and…everyone else?" Henry asked.

Klaus tried not to smile at Henry's question but he failed. "Yes just like that. And Uncle Kol hasn't left has he?"

"Nope, not even when Aunt Bekah threw her shoe at him."

"Exactly." Klaus replied. "Head back up to your room now and finish with your dragon. I'm going to go deal with dinner."

"Thanks Dad." Henry said before hugging his dad tightly.

After his son released him, Klaus watched him head back up the stairs, hoping that he hadn't just lied to his son.

/

*buzz*

Bonnie wasn't expecting any company, especially one of her best friends so when she saw who it was through the peep hole, she opened the door with a smile. But when she saw that her friend's eyes were slightly pink, she became concerned "Caroline what's wrong?"

"He kissed me." Caroline admitted.

"Who kissed you?"

"Klaus."

Bonnie's mouth dropped open in surprise at Caroline's confession. "He kissed you? Just now?"

"No, a few weeks ago. And that's only the beginning…"

"There's more?" Bonnie asked. When Caroline nodded, she reached forward and pulled her inside. "Get in here."

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief as she plopped onto Bonnie's couch. As soon as she left the house, she had headed to the closest 'T' station. While she walked, she had called Anna. She knew there was no way after her face-off with Klaus that she would be able to meet with the other woman without completely losing it. She apologized profusely to her, telling her that they would reschedule before hanging up. When she reached the station, she hopped onto the train that would take her to Bonnie's. She needed a friend to talk to, even if she ended up getting an 'I told you so.'

"Okay, start at the beginning." Bonnie said as she led Caroline over to the couch.

"I told you that the date with Dean didn't work out and that's why I wasn't going to see him again. But it was a lie." Caroline admitted. "It was fine and I was going to go out with him again but then I came home and Klaus was waiting for me. We kind of ran into each other while I was on my date, he had seen me across the street with Dean, and I saw him with this woman. He didn't know that my date was with Dean and started arguing that I shouldn't be dating one of his other employees. We were fighting about it, I asked him why I shouldn't date Dean and instead of answering me, he kissed me."

"Holy shit, what did you do?"

"The first kiss was soft and kind of quick. He pulled back to see my reaction, I guess he thought I might slap him. I didn't. Instead I grabbed him and pulled him close for a second kiss."

"Oh, Caroline why?"

"I don't know, okay? Scratch that, I do know why. I know he is my boss and I know I shouldn't have but I have fallen for him and when the guy who you have fallen for suddenly grabs you and kisses you, you grab him and kiss back. Even if you know you shouldn't." She explained.

"Tell me that you only kissed him."

"Well, um. Kind of?" Caroline responded, blushing slightly but quickly clarified when she saw Bonnie's eyes widen. "Clothes stayed on! Things were getting a little heated but then Lexi woke up…"

Bonnie gasped. "Did she see you?"

"No, thankfully. We were in the living room and she called for Klaus from the foyer." Caroline explained. She could not express how grateful she was that Lexi hadn't actually walked in on them. She would have been mortified if that had happened.

Once Bonnie was sure that Caroline hadn't permanently scarred Lexi, Caroline proceeded to tell her the rest of what had really been happening over the past few weeks. It felt good to talk about it with someone that wasn't involved in the situation. Her friend just sat there and listened to her get the whole story out, asking a question on occasion but that was it until the end. "So what did he say when you told him about the aftereffects of your accident?"

"He said he was sorry."

"That's it?"

"I didn't exactly give him a chance to say anything else. I ran out." Caroline explained. "But there wasn't really anything to say."

"Caroline, you can't spring that on someone and just leave." Bonnie chastised. "Listen, from what you said, Klaus obviously wants to be with you and has been doing whatever he can to convince you to give him a chance, not knowing what was holding you back. Then when you tell him, you just left and didn't give him a chance to absorb it."

"Are you actually trying to talk me into dating him?" Caroline asked. "I figured I'd get a scolding from you."

"I'm not trying to talk you into anything. And yes, I lectured you about not getting too close to him and the kids but that was because I was worried about you. I thought that you could fall for him and things would be one-sided. Then you would continue on, miserable." Bonnie stated. "But now, from what you told me it's not one-sided. And that changes things or at least my opinion on the whole thing."

"What I'm trying to say is, don't blow this chance just because you think things are going to go a certain way. I'm not pushing you to be with him, but I want you to think about it before you shoot down all possibilities." Bonnie explained. "And I'm here whenever you want to talk."

"Would you mind if I stayed here tonight?" Caroline asked. "I don't want to face him at the moment. I'll just get up early and go home in time to get the kids ready."

"Of course. We can slumber it tonight." Bonnie said reassuring.

Caroline smiled her thanks to her friend. She was glad she had come to see Bonnie, she really needed her friend.

/

When the card game paused for a break, Klaus rose and headed straight to the bar. He needed more alcohol. He gave his order to the bartender before turning around and surveying the room. The bachelor party was not the normal stag party; Damon had surprisingly gone the tasteful route. He wasn't sure if he had done that out of choice or the threat of his baby sister the bride. He suspected the latter but regardless it was a welcoming change from how he had suspected the night might go. From what he knew of Damon, he had expected a party dedicated to hedonism to celebrate Stefan's last night as a single man but instead it was quite tame, with an open bar and one stripper to entertain the bridegroom. With the party going as it was, he was able to sit on the sidelines, which he preferred, without seeming out of place. He was not in a social mood at the moment.

When he turned to retrieve his drink, he felt someone come up behind him before he heard the voice of one of his older brothers. "Niklaus."

"Elijah." Klaus replied with a nod. Elijah moved to obtain his own drink before taking up a position next to him. The two of them stood there for several minutes, Klaus could tell that Elijah was waiting for something. "Whatever it is you have to say, spit it out brother."

"What makes you think that I have something to say? Can I not just want to spend time with my brother?" Elijah asked.

"If that is what you want, then I have no problem with it. However I know you better than that Elijah," Klaus stated. "You never shy away from telling me what is on your mind, why stop now?"

Despite Klaus' statement, Elijah took several minutes before speaking again. "I have just noticed that you don't seem to be enjoying the festivities much. I would think that considering Stefan is your friend as well as our sister's groom, you would be over there with him enjoying your evening."

"I'm not in much of a celebrating mood." Klaus stated as he looked over at Stefan who was a couple of bar stools away.

"That wouldn't have anything to do with Ms. Forbes would it?"

Klaus turned his attention away from Stefan to look at his brother in question before the answer came to him. "Your wife has a big mouth."

Elijah smiled a little, "I find it telling that instead of stating that my inquiry was foolish or idiotic, you immediately assume that something Katherine said is the reason I'm asking."

"So you can honestly tell me that Katherine has not said anything to you about what she thinks has or hasn't happening between me and Caroline?" Klaus asked.

"No, she told me everything that was discussed between the two of you a couple of weeks ago. She told me how envious of Caroline's date you were, how you looked as if you had just come from the first warm bed you could climb into, and how when she confronted you about it all, you snapped at her." Elijah stated before leaning in slightly and stared him straight in the eyes. "And it was only her request that stopped me from coming over to your house that night and having a discussion of my own with you."

Klaus nodded in understanding, Elijah was not happy with him yelling at his pregnant wife and he couldn't blame him a bit. That night he had been a mess and let his temper get away from him. "I wouldn't have blamed you."

Elijah nodded. "She also told me that the twins contacted her when you and Caroline were acting strangely, but that she got no answers as to what happened except that Lexi caught you arguing on the same night that you argued with Katherine. Since then I have watched you, and I have noticed something different about you. Sometimes you are tense and on edge, then other times morose. And I believe that has everything to do with Ms. Forbes."

Klaus took a gulp from his tumbler, finishing it off as he contemplated whether he wanted to ignore Elijah's probe or chose to talk about it. After a minute, he decided on the latter. "You would be correct. I care about Caroline as more than an employee, more than a friend."

Elijah looked at him, his eyebrow raised. "And she does not return your affections?"

"No, she does. If she didn't this might be easier." Klaus admitted before motioning to the bartender for another drink.

"I don't understand."

"Despite my confession to her that I care about her and the knowledge that she feels the same about me, Caroline does not want to pursue a relationship." Klaus explained.

"I must say that I had an idea that this would happen ever since the first time I saw the two of you interacting. I haven't seen you connect with someone like that before, not even Tatia." Elijah replied. "I assume that Caroline's hesitancy is due to professional reasons? I can see her having issues being involved with her boss. There would be a bit of a stigma attached to it, you read sordid stories about that kind of thing."

"Thank you Elijah, that makes me feel better." Klaus groaned.

"It doesn't sound like it was one-sided."

"It's not, but Caroline is being firm on her decision, despite my attempts to sway her." He replied as he ran his hand over his face. "I thought she was just afraid of the idea. She had said that she was worried that when, not if, things ended between us, that she would lose me, the twins, and her job. I thought she was just being pessimistic, thinking that things would turn out badly without even trying. But then yesterday I found out why she was so sure of it."

"What were her reasons?" Elijah asked.

"After pressing her, she told me that she can't have children." Klaus confessed.

Elijah, like Klaus, was good at masking his expressions but he did not even try to hide his surprise at Klaus' announcement. After Katherine's difficult pregnancies, he was familiar with the possibility of not being able to have a child but Caroline's situation was different. "That must be extremely hard for her to live with. I applaud her for channeling her love of children into a fulfilling career."

Klaus nodded. He did admire that about her, she had gone through a terrible accident that had left her forever scarred both on the outside and inside and had come out stronger. "She believes that I would eventually break things off with her due to that."

"I could see where that would be a concern for her, with any relationship she begins but considering you already have children, she would be even more worried that you would not accept her if she couldn't give you more." Elijah explained. "Do you? Want more children?"

"I've not really considered it. I always wanted a large family, like ours but once I had the twins and Tatia left they have been my sole focus." Klaus answered.

"Then you need to make a decision, do you still want to be with Caroline regardless of what she told you? Because there are always other options, choosing not to have any more or adopt." Elijah declared. "But would you be able to live with the knowledge that the two of you would never share a child?"

"It's all I've been thinking about since she told me." Klaus admitted before draining his glass again. He needed more alcohol.

/

Caroline was still awake when Klaus came home from Stefan's bachelor party and if she hadn't been, she was sure that the commotion he made would have woken her. Not only the thumping of him stumbling up the stairs but also the sound of voices. She briefly wondered if Klaus hadn't brought some company home until she realized that both voices were male and it was then that she recognized Stefan's voice.

She waited until their voices faded, indicating that they had gone up the stairs to the third floor to Klaus' room before she came out of her own. She found herself hovering around the stairs. She wouldn't admit to herself that the idea of him being so drunk that he needed help home didn't make her worry, just slightly uneasy. It wasn't as if he never drank, he did but she hadn't seen him drink to this extent. Maybe it was just because he had been at a bachelor party but she wondered if some of it wasn't because of their last conversation.

They hadn't spoken aside from greetings since the night before so she wasn't sure what he thought about her confession. They weren't ignoring each other like before; it was more like the timing was never right. She had only seen him for a few minutes before he went to work that morning and then he had gone straight to the party afterwards.

A few minutes later, she saw Stefan walking down the stairs towards her and she smiled. "Hey."

"Hey, we didn't wake you did we?" Stefan asked.

"No, I was already up." Caroline assured him. "How was your party?"

"It was good; thankfully Damon listened to me for once. We played poker, smoked cigars and drank a lot of liquor. He had one stripper there, but it wasn't anything too wild that could piss off Rebekah." Stefan answered with a chuckle.

"Well that's good; you wouldn't want her to call off the wedding with less than twenty four hours to go." She laughed. "Are you okay to get home?"

"Yeah, Rebekah insisted on hiring a car for the night for me, she didn't want me to worry about driving after the party." Stefan explained. "It's why I offered to bring Klaus home; I thought it'd be easiest. He's okay by the way. Pretty much passed out once I got him into bed."

"Oh, that's good." Caroline said, trying to sound casual as she followed him down the stairs. She noticed Stefan staring at her knowingly. "What?"

"You, trying to act very blasé to the fact that you're relieved to know he's fine." Stefan stated. "I know you care about him, Care."

"Well yeah, we're friends."

Stefan and her might not be close friends but they were friends enough that Caroline could easily recognize the look on his face, it was his 'serious' face. "You're a bit more than that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Caroline, for one thing, lying isn't your strong suit so don't try. Two, it's obvious that something has been going on between the two of you since the trip. And three, I overheard the beginning of an interesting conversation tonight, between Klaus and Elijah." Stefan stated. "Do I need to tell you what the topic of their talk was?"

"I assume something about the two of us." Caroline stated. When Stefan nodded, she went on. "Are you upset with me? I mean you're the one who introduced me to him."

"I'm not mad at you Caroline. Yes, this isn't what I expected when I suggested you to him but I can't say that I'm disappointed in the outcome." He confessed.

"We aren't together, Stefan."

"I know. But I think you should be."

"Stefan…"

"Klaus is my friend, he and the twins are going to be family. He has been alone for 6 years, never pursuing that kind of relationship with any woman, and then he meets you. And you're all he wants." He declared.

"Klaus and I have already talked about this. It's too big of a risk and things are just going to stay like they are."

"Can you honestly say that you want to keep living like things are now? You wanting him, but not having him while living with him and the kids? And what would happen if he met someone else? Could you handle seeing that?" Stefan asked.

"Things aren't that simple Stefan." Caroline replied.

"Love isn't simple, if it was it wouldn't be worth it." Stefan acknowledged. He watched as Caroline took in his words, her gaze telling him that she was lost a bit in her thoughts. "I should be going. I want to get a few hours of sleep."

"Um, yeah. Busy day tomorrow." Caroline said as she walked him to the door. "I won't see you until after the ceremony so good luck."

"Thanks." Stefan replied.

Caroline locked up after Stefan left then headed to the kitchen. She retrieved a bottle of water and some ibuprofen before climbing back up the stairs. However instead of going to her room, she climbed another flight and went to Klaus' room.

She had only been on this floor a handful of times, and never had she gone into his bedroom. The room was dark but there was enough light from the hallway that she could see inside. It was the biggest of any of the bedrooms in the house, painted in warm colors and had vaulted ceilings. The centerpiece of the room was a large king size bed where she could see Klaus lying.

Stefan hadn't been kidding when he had said that Klaus had passed out when he hit the bed. Stefan had managed to get his shoes off of him and his coat and Caroline was grateful that he was fully dressed. He was flat on his back, not quite in the middle of the bed but he wasn't in any danger of falling off either.

Caroline set the bottle of water and pills on the table next to him, hopefully he would see them when he woke up. He didn't need to have a huge hangover on the day of his sister's wedding. She couldn't help but stand there and watch him. It wasn't often that she was able to look at him without worrying that he would notice. He looked different when he was sleeping, no less handsome, just different. With his eyes closed, their blue gaze was hidden from her, his face was relaxed so those alluring dimples were absent. His curls stuck up in a few different directions, and she had to stop herself from reaching out to fix them. Not trusting herself to keep her hands to herself, Caroline retreated from his bedside. But before she could leave the room, his voice stopped her. "Caroline."

With eyes wide and feeling guilty at being caught in his room, she turned to face him. However she was surprised to see his eyes were still closed. He hadn't woken up at all, he had said her name in his sleep. She didn't want to think what that meant. She quickly left the room before he did actually wake up.

The questions that Stefan had asked her, about if she could keep living with this way, were running through her head as she went down to her room. With everything out in the open now, she wondered if Klaus would stop pursuing her to change her mind. Her heart clenched at the thought despite the fact that she was the one pushing him away. What would she do if he moved on? Could she handle seeing that?

She went to her desk and opened her laptop. The tears began to stream down her face as she started: Dear Klaus...

**Okay, next part will be Rebekah and Stefan's wedding, what do you think? Will they share a dance? **


	32. Part 31 The Wedding

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies! How are we today? No, your eyes do not deceive you, I am updating. **

**I also wanted to say welcome to a bunch of new readers, glad you took a chance to read this. I also want to thank the readers who have been reading and recommending this story to your friends. That means a lot to me. And I loved reading everyone's thoughts on what Caroline was writing at the end of the last part, it will be addressed a little in this part. **

**Thanks to klarolineepiclove, and jomosfamilyjewels for helping me step by step through this part, idiot-wind for her suggestions and CeceVolume for her betaing skills. **

**Now onto the wedding! **

Part 31

Caroline could not remember ever attending such a beautiful and lavish wedding before. The evening ceremony had taken place at one of the many historic churches in Boston, where most of the lighting had been from the multiple candle chandeliers around the church. It had created a very romantic atmosphere, one that continued to the Atlantic room at the Boston Harbor Hotel where the reception was being held.

"Wow." Bonnie gasped as they entered the room.

"That about sums it up." Elena agreed as they looked around.

Three of the walls were majority windows that looked out at the harbor with all of its twinkling lights from passing boats, buoys, and far off buildings giving the illusion that the candles spread out past the barriers of the walls. The room itself was draped in red and white fabric, with more candles and flowers. Since it was Valentine's Day, Rebekah had gone with red for her primary wedding color and she was pretty sure that the female Mikaelson had just created a shortage of red candles and flowers on the East Coast.

"Let's find our table and then get a drink before the happy couple gets here." Caroline suggested. Though the wedding had been beautiful and she was happy for Stefan and Rebekah, she was feeling anxious. She still hadn't seen Klaus yet and wasn't sure what to expect. Granted, she hadn't actually given him the letter yet but that wasn't the only reason she was anxious, she still had not spoken to him about their encounter in the foyer.

After finishing her letter the night before, she had laid in bed for a couple of hours thinking over everything. Due to that, by the time she woke up this morning, Klaus and the twins had already left to attend a lunch that the Mikaelsons were having before the preparations started for the wedding. No, the first time she had laid eyes on him since last night was when he arrived at the alter next to Stefan and Damon as well as his brothers.

He didn't look to be feeling any ill effects from the night before, quite the opposite actually, no sign of pale skin, bags under his eyes or any other telltale of someone who had overindulged the night before. He looked as handsome as ever, possibly more so when her eyes trailed down to take in the tux that fit him perfectly. The cut highlighted his broad shoulders, his long body and trim waist. The effect made him look very debonair. His eyes had surveyed the crowd several times, but he never seemed to find her in the crowd. She doubted that would carry over into the reception however and knew that they would come face to face at some point.

Once they grabbed drinks from the bar, they found their table easily. Though Elena was Damon's girlfriend, only the wedding party itself had seats at the head table so the three of them were assigned to the same table along with several of Stefan's other friends and work associates. They chatted with the other people at the table about how beautiful the wedding was as well as the reception until the MC announced the arrival of the happy couple and their entourage. Caroline stood up and watched as all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen entered. She spotted him easily among his brothers, with the twins on either side of him. She watched him search her out of the crowd, and when he found her his eyes traveled over her.

As they entered the hall, Klaus looked around at all of the guests, searching for one in particular. It only took him a minute to find the familiar face. His eyes raked over and his breath stopped for a moment as he took her in. She looked unbelievably stunning. Her hair was in curls, but pulled back loosely at the back of her head. Normally he disliked her hair up but at that moment, he was enjoying the way it displayed her long elegant neck. At first glance, her red dress appeared to be modest with its high collar but it wasn't. The top was made almost completely made of lace that dipped down into her cleavage, while the rest of the dress clung perfectly to her curvy form before cutting off just above her knees. He brought his eyes back up to hers.

Caroline felt her smile falter a bit when their eyes met. She didn't think she had ever seen such a look of adoration from one person to another, especially not directed at her. She had been on the receiving end of his intense eyes but never like this. He held her eyes for a minute or so before the guests of honor and the crowd erupted in applause causing their connection to break.

Everyone took their seats and the MC announced that dinner would be served momentarily. The idle chitchat at their table started up again and Caroline did her best to focus on it instead of the head table. Thankfully the waiters arrived with their food and dinner got underway.

Despite the feeling of being watched, Caroline was enjoying herself. The food and wine were excellent and the conversation good. However, it was the voice of another Mikaelson that pulled her attention away from the table.

"Make sure you guys get as much as you want, believe me Stefan and Bekah paid enough for it."

"Katherine!" Caroline exclaimed, surprised to hear the pregnant brunette behind her. She turned around in her seat and smiled up at her. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. I just thought I would come over to speak to you about something if you have a minute?" Katherine asked before looking over at Caroline's friends and the blonde realized that she should introduce them.

"Bonnie, Elena this is Katherine Mikaelson, she is married to Rebekah's brother Elijah. Katherine these are my friends, Bonnie Bennett and Elena Gilbert. I don't think you've met Elena before, she's Damon's girlfriend."

"Oh yes, I remember Stefan spoke of her before. He mentioned that he could see a resemblance between the two of us." Katherine stated as her eyes studied Elena's face before shrugging. "I don't see it however."

Elena looked taken aback at Katherine's brashness before she recovered and shrugged. "Me either."

Katherine just smiled before turning her attention back to the person she had come to speak to. "I wanted to come and ask a favor for Rebekah. I had planned to talk to you earlier at lunch and I was surprised when I didn't see you there."

Caroline's brow furrowed in confusion. Why would Katherine think that she would have been at the Mikaelson family luncheon? "I thought it was just for your family."

"It was." Katherine replied with a smile.

Though she only felt more confused by Katherine's answer, Caroline continued. "What favor does Rebekah need?"

"A dance partner for Kol." Katherine answered. "After the newlyweds' first dance as a married couple, she planned for the entire wedding party to dance as well."

"Can't he dance with one of the bridesmaids?"

"Well Rose plans to dance with her husband Trevor and April will be dancing with her boyfriend Adrian so they are both taken. Damon will be dancing with Elena, Elijah with me of course, Sage with Finn and you with Nik."

"Excuse me what?" Caroline questioned. "I'm dancing with Klaus? No one told me."

Katherine just shrugged that damn smile back in place. "Well we just all assumed that you would, given how close the two of you are."

"What is she talking about Caroline?" Elena asked.

"Nothing," She responded quickly then realized how that must have looked so she tried to figure out a better answer. "I mean, since we are friends and he's the only one of her brothers that isn't married or dating, she probably just meant that I would step in as a substitute or something."

"Yeah, that's what I meant." Katherine agreed. "But anyways, I guess Rebekah thought that Kol would bring a date and it wouldn't be an issue. However, he decided to come all on his own and while I have no doubt that he would be more than willing to charm some single lady here into dancing with him; we thought it'd be better to set it up ahead of time."

"If you already have me paired up with Klaus, how am I going to be able to help you?" Caroline questioned.

"Stefan had mentioned how your friend Bonnie here might be willing to dance with Kol. So I was going to ask you at lunch if you'd be willing to talk to her about it but now that I'm here, I guess I don't need to go through you." Katherine explained before looking at Bonnie. "So would you be willing?"

Bonnie looked at her wide eyed at being put on the spot. "I don't even know who you are talking about. Why would I want to dance with a complete stranger?"

"He's right over there." Caroline said, pointing out the youngest Mikaelson brother. "Kol is a good guy, most of the time."

"That inspires a lot of confidence, Caroline." Bonnie replied as she rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean he is a good guy, he's the one who was going to stand up for me at the club in Barbados and took me home after. He's just a little…overzealous and flirty when you first meet him." She explained. She felt kind of guilty for pushing Kol onto her best friend but it was only for one dance. "I know Stefan would appreciate it."

Bonnie let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll do it. But if his hands go somewhere they aren't supposed to, I won't be held responsible for hurting him."

"I like her, she's definitely able to take care of Kol and keep him in line." Katherine commented as she looked back at Caroline. "Now that that's settled I'm going to go tell Rebekah. See you on the dance floor."

Caroline watched Katherine retreat back to the wedding party table, gliding along gracefully despite her expanding pregnancy belly to where Kol sat next to Klaus. She assumed that Katherine was informing Kol of his new dancing partner when the other woman pointed over to their table. Kol and Klaus both looked in their direction, Kol looking at Bonnie but Klaus' eyes were focused on her. She thought about what Katherine had said, that his family had just assumed that she would be his dance partner, and wondered if he had been in on the idea.

She turned her attention away from him, and back to her friends. She had just finished her food when she felt two pairs of familiar little arms come from behind to grab her. "Caroline!"

"There are my sweeties." Caroline said as she brought her hand to lie on top of theirs and squeezed. She tried not to think about how she would miss them. The twins released her neck and she moved her chair around so that she could face them. She smiled widely as she got a closer look at their clothes. Henry was in a miniature version of the tuxes that his father and uncles wore, while Lexi was dressed in a red princess dress with a pair of ruby rhinestone slippers on.

"You two look adorable. What do you guys think?" She asked her friends.

"Absolutely." Elena said.

"I love your hair Lexi." Bonnie added.

Lexi's hand came up to play with the intricate braids that were piled on top of her head. "Thank you, Aunt Bekah took me with her and the bridesmaids after lunch to a fancy salon to get it done. It was so much fun, and look, Caroline, I got my nails done too."

Caroline took the outstretched hand and looked at the small nails painted a glittery red. "Very pretty. What did your dad think about it?"

"He wasn't too happy, but Aunt Bekah told him to be quiet because it was her day and I could wear it for one day." Lexi told them with a mischievous smile that made Caroline laugh. She knew that Klaus had probably argued with his sister over the matter, he didn't like the idea of Lexi having any makeup on, even something as harmless as nail polish.

"Caroline, my shoes are hurting my feet and my tie is choking me, can I take them off?" Henry asked as he fidgeted.

"But you look so handsome." Caroline argued as she reached forward and fiddled with his tie.

"Tell him no, Caroline. Dad told him he couldn't when he caught him trying to take it off in the car on the way here." Lexi advised.

Caroline reached over and pulled Henry up onto her lap. She felt bad for him knowing how uncomfortable he was. He hated getting dressed up, or wearing any kind of constricting clothes. However, she knew she couldn't go against what Klaus had told his son. "Sorry Henry, but if your dad said no, then you are going to have to wait. Your aunt wants lots of pictures but maybe after they cut the cake you can take a little bit of it off."

Henry's eyes lit up at the mention of the large wedding cake. "I hope they cut it soon."

"It shouldn't be too long, since everyone is wrapping up dinner." Caroline assured him. "So what do you two think of the wedding? Aside from the uncomfortable clothes?"

"It's okay." Henry answered with a shrug. "The ceremony lasted too long and there were too many pictures but the food was good and cake is coming."

"Well I thought the flowers were pretty and Aunt Rebekah looked beautiful, like a princess. I hope whenever I get married I will look just as pretty." Lexi stated.

"Oh you will! You'll be even prettier." Caroline promised her. "And Henry will look even more handsome than he does today when he gets married."

"Like my dad?" Henry asked looking at his nanny with hopeful eyes.

"Yes." Caroline answered. Henry looked very much like a miniature version of his father, so she had no doubt that he would grow up to be just as handsome.

Lexi huffed, 'Like Henry even wants to get married."

"Well it's not like I mean tomorrow, you guys have a long time before either of you have to worry about stuff like weddings." She replied. "A very long time."

It was then that the MC announced that the newlyweds would be cutting the cake, Henry wiggled around on her lap in excitement as they watched Stefan and Rebekah step up to the large multi-tiered cake before they scampered off to get a piece. Soon after the cake was consumed and the festivities moved to the dance floor.

Caroline couldn't help but smile as she watched Stefan and Rebekah dance. The two of them looked unbelievably happy, almost to the point that she thought that it was the two of them that casted the glow about the room and not the numerous candles.

As their first dance wound down, Caroline saw Klaus and Kol making their way towards their table. The three of them stood, Elena leaving to meet up with Damon while Bonnie and Caroline greeted their own partners.

Kol smiled a wide grin at her before turning his attention over to Bonnie. "I hear that I have luckily been paired with you Darling."

"It appears so." Bonnie responded, as she eyed him.

"Shall we?" Kol asked as he offered his hand to her. When Bonnie accepted it, Kol brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the top.

Caroline watched the whole exchange with curiosity, especially when she saw a look of interest in her friend's eyes though she tried to hide it. Instead of swooning, Bonnie pulled out of his grip, lifted her chin and stared straight at Kol. "Are we going to dance or just stand here?"

Her words only made Kol smile wider. "I like pretty little things with sharp tongues."

"I have a feeling that you have no idea how to handle a woman who talks back." Bonnie stated as she brushed past him towards the dance floor.

Klaus smirked as he watched his younger brother and Caroline's friend before he turned to the beautiful blonde. He held out his hand towards her. "Shall we sweetheart?"

Caroline nodded as she reached forward and took it. She felt a spark as they made skin to skin contact but didn't withdrawal as his hand wrapped around her fingers. Klaus' smile widened as he walked backwards, leading her towards the other couples his eyes never leaving her as the music began.

Once they reached their destination, he lifted the arm that held her hand up spinning her in a slow circle until she faced him again and pulled her close. Their joined hands stayed clasped while she placed hers on his shoulder and his other hand came up to her waist, pulling her close. Closer than what would be considered appropriate but his hold would not let her pull away. This was not how she figured their first encounter to go.

If she thought that the touch of her hand in his had ignited a spark between them, then the feeling of his body so close to hers created an inferno. She could feel the hard contours of his chest even through the layers of both of their garments, but what was more overwhelming was how close his face was to hers. Their noses were barely inches away from each other and his eyes locked on hers. She couldn't look away so she tried to occupy their focus elsewhere. "You might have warned me that your sister was planning for us to be dance partners."

Klaus was intrigued by Caroline's statement. "Is the idea of dancing with me so horrible?"

"No, I just don't like being caught off guard." She explained. "And Katherine seemed to enjoy it a little too much when she informed me of Rebekah's wishes."

"I'm sure she did. Katherine takes pleasure in making others uncomfortable." He stated. "Though you should know that I wasn't informed of my sister's plans for this dance nor that she and the rest of my family expected you to dance with me."

"It's as if they assume that because we live together that I am your plus one." Caroline acknowledged.

"Regardless of what they assume, I can't say that I am disappointed with the arrangements, if it means I get to hold you like this." Klaus declared boldly as he moved them around the dance floor. He tilted his head towards her, decreasing the small amount of distance between them so that his mouth was right next to her ear. "And have the chance to tell you how beautiful you look. Absolutely breathtaking."

Caroline's breath caught at his words, before she turned her gaze away. Instead, she tried to focus on anything but him. Her eyes landed on the twins who were at the head table with their cousins who were dressed in similar clothes. "Henry and Lexi look utterly adorable. I don't think Rebekah could have chosen a prettier dress for Lexi. And she loved the trip to the salon."

She heard Klaus grumble a bit at her words. "Yes, something else my sister did not speak to me about."

His complaint brought a smile to her face and she relaxed a little. "Henry isn't happy though, thankfully it looks like the cake has distracted him."

"He tried to strip out of his clothes the moment the photographer dismissed us but I managed to stop him before he could get too far." Klaus told her as he followed her gaze and looked over at his children. They were smiling, and laughing with Sarah, Connor and Noah. His eyes went back to Caroline's and for a moment he just watched her watching his twins, the love she felt for them unmistakable in her expression. "About what you told me the other night, it doesn't matter to me. It doesn't change me wanting to be with you."

Caroline snapped her eyes away from the twins to look back at Klaus, her body coming to a halt as what he said hit her. Her sudden stop caused Finn and Sage to almost bump into them but Klaus was able to pull her out of the way at the last minute. She quickly recovered and managed to fall back in step with him.

Her thoughts were racing at what he had said. Had he really said that he still wanted to be with her? Despite what she had told him? Could this really be true? He watched her as the questions ran through her mind and she tried to find the words to say to him. "Are you sure? I mean, have you really thought about what it means?"

"It's all I've been thinking about from the moment you told me." Klaus admitted. "I know you think that things can't work out for us because of it, because you assume that I want to have more kids. I'll be honest I have always thought that if I could have more children I would. But if I have to make a choice between that or you, I choose you, Caroline."

All she could see in his eyes was the truth; everything he was saying was spoken with complete honesty. Caroline felt tears coming to her eyes. This was not how she thought things would go even if a part of her had hoped for it. She had resigned herself last night to giving them up, instead he was handing them to her on a silver platter. Could she really do this? Be with him?

"And now the question is, do you choose me? Choose us?" He asked as he watched the emotions flit through her eyes behind her unshed tears.

Caroline tried to find the words to say to him but couldn't. Instead, she pursed her lips and nodded her answer. She watched as a smile broke out on his face. He leaned forward as if to kiss her when the song ended and everyone around them suddenly stopped dancing. It made them remember where they were at and while she figured he wouldn't let that stop him, he did move back a step, though he didn't lose his smile. "As much as I want to kiss you, my sister would cut out my heart with her cake knife if I stole the attention away from her by doing that. Not to mention what a shock it would be to the twins."

She nodded in agreement. "We should wait until we get home, sort things out after the twins are down."

"Agreed." Klaus said and she noticed his eyes took a mischievous glint them. "So we'll get them together and head out now?"

Caroline slapped his chest lightly. "If you are trying not to piss off your sister, I don't think disappearing right now is such a good idea. We can wait a little longer."

"I will wait as long as I have to, but that doesn't mean I want to." Klaus told her.

She couldn't help the smile on her face at his words, he almost sounded like Henry when the boy pouted when not getting his way. She looked back at the dance floor and saw that some of the couples were still dancing while others had headed back to the table. "You should probably head back to the table before Henry gorges on so much sugar he'll never go to sleep."

"Perhaps we could share another dance later?" Klaus asked.

Caroline smiled teasingly. "Maybe, it depends on how many other people ask."

"I'll have to make sure to scare them away." He stated. He winked at her before turning and heading back towards Henry and Lexi.

Caroline watched him go and noticed Katherine and Sage had been watching the two of them with interest. She tried not to give anything away before she moved back to her seat. Bonnie was already back in her spot but Elena was still dancing with Damon.

"Those two look awfully cozy don't they?" Sage commented to her sister-in-law as she watched Caroline and Niklaus part and go their separate ways. She looked over and saw Katherine's signature cat ate the canary smile.

"Yes, they do." The brunette replied. "Which is surprising considering how much Caroline seemed to fight the idea of the two of them dancing when I spoke to her earlier."

"In any case they seem to have gotten over whatever it was." Sage declared. "There is obviously something going on between the two of them, I'm just not sure exactly what."

"They are both so stubborn." Katherine observed. "Someone needs to lock them up in a room and see what happens."

Sage's lips curled up suddenly, mimicking the smile that Katherine had earlier. "I don't know about locking them in the same room, but I think I have an idea that might work just as well."

The rest of the reception seemed to fly by for Caroline. She actually didn't end up dancing with Klaus again instead she danced with Stefan, Damon, and Kol despite Klaus' teasing of scaring away any other dance partners. Klaus himself had danced with his sister, as well as Sage, Katherine, and even Lexi who seemed over the moon at dancing with her dad. Caroline found it interesting that despite her protests at the beginning of the evening, Bonnie seemed not to mind dancing with Kol much. In fact, except for the brief dance that she shared with him, Bonnie was in his arms whenever a slow song was on. Anything she could do to keep her focus off of what was going on after the wedding, otherwise her huge smile would make her friend suspicious.

After more than half of the guests had left, and while Elena was dancing with Damon, Caroline tried to get her friend's thoughts on Kol but stopped when Klaus approached their table. She looked up at him with a small grin. "Hey."

"Caroline. Bonnie." He greeted with a nod to her friend before turning back to the blonde who was his reason for coming over. "I know you came with your friends but I thought I might give you a ride home?"

Bonnie looked at her with raised eyebrows in question but Caroline just nodded to Klaus. "Yeah, sure. If you are ready to go now, I'll meet you and the twins at the coat check."

"Actually the twins won't be coming home with us; according to Sage they conspired with their cousins to arrange to spend the night at their house. So it will just be the two of us."

Caroline couldn't help but gulp at the news, they would be completely alone for the night. She tried not to let the nervousness show in her voice as she replied. "Okay."

"I'll just say goodbye to my family and we will be off." Klaus replied.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Bonnie pounced. "I think you left something out about that dance you two shared."

Caroline shrugged. "Maybe a little. Look, I don't want to say anything until I talk to him but I'll tell you later all about it okay?"

"I'm holding you to that."

"I have no doubt that you will." Caroline responded before she smirked at the person coming up behind her friend. "But it looks like you are going to be dealing with a Mikaelson man of your own tonight."

She gave Bonnie a quick good-bye hug before she stood and escaped the table, leaving Kol with her friend and headed to the coat check. The attendant had just handed her coat to her when Klaus came up behind her. He retrieved his as well before leading her out to his car.

As they got into the car, Caroline barely noticed the cold interior due to how extremely nervous she was feeling. She wasn't reconsidering the answer she had given Klaus, it was more the type of nervousness one felt when they were about to start something new, which it was.

Klaus reached over and placed his hand over one of hers and squeezed reassuringly. She looked up and saw a small smile on his lips though he was focused on the road ahead. She knew then that he had picked up on her mindset and had wanted to try and calm her down. However while his gesture had calmed her down a little, his touch had done something else entirely. The warmth of hand on her cold one had sent heat up her arm and throughout her body causing the tension in the car to switch from nervous anticipation to something not so innocent. She shivered a little and she could tell by the way his smile grew, he knew it wasn't from the chill.

After parking the car, they hurried into the house and out of the chill. They had barely shut the door when Klaus pulled her towards him and closed his lips over Caroline's. The kiss was fiery and passionate. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly against his body. Even though she was frozen into place in surprise, her body reacted quickly. She kissed him back, with the same amount of urgency and need, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt Klaus swipe his tongue over her bottom lip but he was not asking for entrance, he was demanding it.

His mouth molded over hers hard and persuasive, parting her lips with the thrust of his tongue as he ravished her mouth with his. She felt herself weaken from the spiraling pleasure that poured through her, and she clung to his broad shoulders for support. Then as soon as it began, Klaus ended the kiss and pulled back, smiling at her. "I've been wanting to do that since I first saw you tonight."

Although she felt like she had been smiling a lot at him all night, she couldn't help as a new one spread across her face. "I'm not complaining one bit. But…"

"We should probably discuss a few things?" Klaus finished. When Caroline nodded apologetically, he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "How about you get out of your coat while I go get us a bottle of wine or maybe champagne? Then we can sort out things."

"Sounds good." Caroline agreed.

Klaus reluctantly released her from his arms and headed towards the kitchen to retrieve the promised bottle and a couple of glasses, shrugging out of his coat as he did. Caroline watched him go before turning and heading into the living room, removing her own long coat before putting it away. She turned on a couple of lights and started the fireplace as she waited for him to come back. She heard his heavy footsteps returning a moment later.

"Caroline? What is this?" She heard Klaus ask. She turned around to see what he was talking about and saw the letter she had typed up the night before, opened and obviously read, the one she had completely forgotten about.

**dun dun dun**

**Well guys? What did you think? I know I left this with a cliffhanger but I swear, this part was for real and not a dream or anything but what it appears to be. And I won't be ripping the two of them apart again, the letter just helps them deal with some issues that need to be discussed.**

**What do you think will happen now? What do you think his reaction is going to be to the letter? Caroline has some explaining to do. And what will the two of them do now that they are alone for the night? **


	33. Part 32 A Game of Risk

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies.**

**The reaction to the last part was unbelievable! Thank you for all of your reviews, follows, and favorites. I also want to thank the people who have been recommending this story to other people, and say hello to my new readers! **

**I realized the day after I posted it, that I forgot to include a few things in my note. For one, the dress that Caroline was wearing is the one that Candice wore in a couple of the promo shots and two, the soundtrack for the last part was either Give Me Love by Ed Sheeran or The Man I Love by Helen Forrest. **

**As for this part, I would suggest Stay by Rihanna. **

**Thanks to klarolineepiclove, and jomosfamilyjewels for their help and betaing skills. **

**Just a reminder, this story is listed with a Mature rating. If you are under 18 and reading this, don't tell me.**

Part 32

"Caroline? What is this?" Klaus asked as he held up the piece of paper for her to see. While retrieving a bottle of wine and goblets, he spotted an envelope addressed to him on the kitchen counter. He had recognized Caroline's handwriting on the envelope immediately and had been curious as to what she had left for him since she hadn't mentioned anything to him about it. After he opened it, those questions left his mind and a whole set of new ones replaced them.

Caroline felt like kicking herself for forgetting about the letter. "It's a letter."

"A resignation letter." Klaus clarified his voice a combination of confusion, hurt and anger. He had read the letter in disbelief. It had been simplistic in nature, just a few lines stating that while she cherished her time there and cared deeply for Lexi and Henry, she felt it was best for her to look for employment elsewhere. She had ended it stating that she would stay for as long as she could while he looked for a replacement for her. As if, she expected it to be just that easy for him.

"Yes, it is." She confirmed. "Klaus…"

"I'm confused. Why did you tell me earlier that you would give us a chance if you were planning on leaving? Or was that why you said yes tonight? Were you planning on being with me until I found another nanny and you left?" Klaus questioned her. He didn't want to believe that she would do something like that, but how could he not? She had finally agreed to start a relationship with him only for him to find out that she had every intention of leaving.

"No, no." Caroline argued. She could see how much the letter had upset him and knew she had to explain quickly. How had things gone from perfect to chaotic in such a short time?

"Did you even consider what your leaving would do to Henry and Lexi? Or how I would have to explain to them that you left because of me?" Klaus demanded. He saw her eyes widen as she took in his words and he knew he had his answer. "No, you didn't. You were going to take the selfish route and make the decision without thinking of all of the consequences instead of just some of them."

"Just let me explain." She demanded forcefully. Then before he could open his mouth again, she continued. "When I wrote that letter, I had no idea that things would happen the way that they did tonight. I thought that with what I told you the other night, that I couldn't have children that you would choose not to pursue the idea of us together. That things would just going to go back the way they were."

"So that's the reason you were going to leave?" Klaus asked. "If I recall sweetheart, you were the one who insisted that we do exactly that. Ignore what we felt and continued as if nothing had happened."

"I know, I know I did. I believed that it was the best arrangement for the situation. However, last night after Stefan brought you home, we ran into each other as he was leaving. When I asked how you were, he let me know that he was aware of what was going on between us. He said he had seen it with his own eyes but also that he had overheard a conversation between you and Elijah." She explained.

"As we talked about it, which by the way your new brother-in-law was very much on your side, he asked me a couple of questions to change my mind. And they did, it made me rethink things. He asked me if I could really go on living in this limbo of caring for you while sharing a living space but not being with you. Moreover if I did, what would happen if you moved on one day?"

"And you decided that quitting was your only option?" He inquired.

"At the time? Yes." Caroline replied. "I knew that as much as I loved it here, with the three of you, that things wouldn't work. Because if we managed to keep things strictly platonic, there would be a day when I would have to see you with another woman and it would break my heart."

"Why didn't you come to discuss it with me? Before you took this step." Klaus said, waving the letter to emphasize his point.

"Because you would have tried to talk me out of it. I didn't make the decision lightly. And now things are different. Everything changed the moment you told me that regardless of the fact that I can't have children that you still wanted to be with me. " She told him as she moved forward so that she could wrap her hand around the one of his that held the letter. "When I wrote this, I didn't think that would happen."

Caroline's touch combined with her words eased the anger and fear he had been feeling. Klaus took a deep breath before he held up the bottle of wine. "I think we need to have that drink now."

She smiled at him, relieved that she had been able to curb his irritation. She released his hand as she answered him. "Yes, I think we should."

He tossed the letter onto the table before he poured them each a glass of the wine. Once they each had their own glass in hand, he brought his up to hers and clinked the glasses together. She brought the glass to her lips and took a sip. It tasted wonderful.

"Now that that ugly business is out of the way." Klaus stated as he watched Caroline sip her wine and they moved to sit down on one of the couches. "We can move onto more mannered subjects."

"Actually you finding the letter does bring up one of the subjects we need to discuss." Caroline stated. "Whether I should keep working here or not."

Klaus' forehead furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. You said that you had planned on leaving because you didn't think we would be together. But we are together, aren't we?"

"Yes, yes we are." She assured him. "However how is that fact going to mix with our current working relationship? I mean, how am I going to be your employee and your girlfriend? It could cause big problems."

Klaus just shrugged. "I don't see why it would have to. Remember love, I run a business with my siblings and have several employees and associates that I consider friends. Why would the two of us be any different?"

"For the reason that those relationships are a bit different than the one between us. What if I do something professionally that you don't agree with? Can you honestly say you will you call me on it or would you worry that if you did, it would get you on my bad side?" Caroline asked.

"Do you think I wouldn't be honest with you if something was to occur? Haven't I been in the past when that very rare occurrence had happened?" Klaus questioned. "I will not be some lovesick fool who caters to your every wish if I don't agree with them. I will still voice what I think when I think it will effect what is best for Henry and Lexi."

"Still it should be something we think of." She nodded. "Even if I moved to another family, I would come to see you and the kids as often as I could."

"Which would mean a great decrease in time spent here."

"Well yes, of course." Caroline replied.

"What if we compromise?" Klaus suggested.

Compromise? Caroline wondered. "What do you have in mind?"

Klaus could hear the hesitancy in her voice, as if she wasn't sure what he might come up with and he held back a smile. "We do a trial period where you stay on here, say a few months, and then we reassess things. Meanwhile I'll keep an open mind on the possibility of your leaving if things aren't working professionally between us."

She thought over his proposal for a moment. "Three months. And during that time, you…we will look for possible replacements for me. It takes time to find a suitable nanny that fits what you need, you got lucky with me."

This time he didn't hold back the large smirk as he said. "Indeed I did, in more ways than one."

Caroline just rolled her eyes at him as she took a large drink of her wine. Once she swallowed it, she spoke. "So you agree to my additions?"

"Yes, I will attempt to look for a replacement." Klaus answered, just because he said he would look didn't mean he had to put a lot of effort into it, after all he thought it was a waste of time.

"Okay then, we will keep our professional and personal lives separate." Caroline confirmed, looking at Klaus who nodded his acceptance.

With that settled, Klaus felt she was too far away from him. He held his hand out to her, motioning her close. "Come here."

Caroline kicked off her shoes and slid across the small distance between them. She curled into his side as his arm came down on her shoulders and pulled her close. They had sat there comfortably for a few minutes, Caroline loving the closeness with him that she was allowed to indulge in now. She couldn't think of any place she'd rather be than here, leaning against him with his arm around her.

Klaus stared down at the beautiful blonde in his arms and though he didn't want to ruin the moment, there was something he wanted to talk to her about. "Caroline, I know this might be painful for you but I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Will you tell me more about the accident? And the aftermath?" He requested. "I know that you told me the other night that you aren't able to have children because of it but…"

"I didn't really explain it though did I?" She said though she of course already knew the answer before she felt him he shake his head. She took a minute to compose her thoughts, before she sat up a little so she could look at him face to face. Not a lot of people had really asked for the details of her situation and how she got that way, none of the guys she had dated ever asked beyond what she told them. Her family, and close friends were the only ones who really knew the particulars.

"A day or two after I was stabilized, my parents came into my room with my doctor. I could tell by their faces that it wasn't with good news." Caroline started, replaying the memory of her parents' sorrowful faces when they had come in. She had known just by the sadness in her dad's eyes that it was something bad but no idea what it was. "It was then that my doctor told me the news, that while they were operating on me they found that some of the damage had been to my uterus. The injury and the resulting scar tissue not only weakened it but also caused some twisting and blockage of my fallopian tubes. They tried to give me a little bit of hope by saying they wouldn't completely rule out the possibility that I could have children but once I pressed them for information, I found that the odds were less than five percent."

Klaus reached over and brushed his knuckles up and down her arm trying to comfort her. He could tell that it wasn't easy for her to talk about and he felt bad for putting her through it, but he didn't stop her from continuing.

"After I found out, I started crying at what I had lost. I mean I was only seventeen but I had always planned on having a child when I was ready. More than one, I didn't want my child to be an only child like I was. Then that dream was extinguished. My dad crawled onto the hospital bed with me, and just held me while I cried. I think that's all I did for days, weeks actually and everyone was worried about me. They weren't sure I was going to come out of it." Caroline explained.

"Then Ms. Sheila, Bonnie's grandmother, came over to talk to me about something. Her church was looking for kids in high school or college age to work in the nursery on the weekends during the activities and services. I didn't like the idea, I felt like it was rubbing salt in my very fresh wounds. But Ms. Sheila is very stubborn, way more than me or you, she wouldn't take no for an answer. Between her and my dad, they were able to get me to go and at least check it out. I owe both of them a lot for helping me."

He watched as a look of happiness came over Caroline's face, lighting up her eyes as she went on. "Despite my uncertainty, she was right. Holding the babies and the toddlers, even though I knew that they weren't mine and I wouldn't have any, was very therapeutic. I volunteered as much of my time as I could and the pain started to ebb away. When it was time to go to college, I directed my major into early education while taking on a part time nanny job. That led me to here and why my job means so much to me."

"I knew you were remarkable since I met you, but now I think you possibly the strongest woman I've ever met." Klaus confessed.

She blushed at his words and shrugged modestly. "Not every guy thinks like that."

"Then they didn't deserve you."

The sincerity in his voice would have made her fall for him if she hadn't already. "No, they didn't. However, that didn't help with the insecurities that came out whenever I got involved with someone. At first, it was just the scars and then as I got older, I started to worry about if I got serious with someone that they'd leave me when they found out about my defect."

"Caroline, it's not a defect; it's just a part of you." Klaus argued, getting upset again. Not at Caroline but at any wanker who had made her feel like she was lacking. "A woman who is beautiful inside and out."

"You just love to lay on the charm don't you?" Caroline teased.

Instead of replying he simply stood up and put his hand out to her. "Come with me."

"What? Why?" She asked confused.

"I want to show you something." He told her. When she took his proffered hand, he pulled her off the couch and towards the front of the house.

"Wait, my shoes…"

"Don't worry about them, you don't need them, we won't be going outside." He assured her.

"Then where are we going?" Caroline questioned. She had no idea where Klaus was taking her or what he wanted to show her. She briefly wondered if they weren't going up to his bedroom. While that idea wasn't as scary as it probably should be, she didn't think that was what he was planning.

"My studio."

Now she was even more confused. "I don't understand, I've seen your artwork, it's all over the house."

"Yes, but not these." Klaus declared as they reached the third floor. He opened the door to his studio and stood back for her to enter.

Caroline walked through the door and looked around. Like his bedroom, she had never actually been inside the studio, only at the doorway when she had gone up to get him for dinner or to tell him she was leaving. She had never had the chance to just explore it.

The room had more windows in it than any other room in the house, they took up most of the outer wall. The other walls had several tables which were covered with scraps of paper and various art supplies that she had no clue about but had seen at a few craft stores she had visited. There were various easels sitting around as well, some with finished artwork while others had works in progress. The only thing in the room that didn't look to be dedicated to art was a small chaise longue in the corner.

Klaus watched her as she took in his space, giving her a few minutes to absorb it before he moved over to the table closest to settee and retrieved the sketchpad there. He opened it as he handed it to her.

As soon as her eyes caught sight of the paper, she gasped in surprise when she saw her own face looking back at her. Well not exactly her, what he had drawn on the pages were how he saw her. "These are beautiful."

"It's because of the subject in them." He acknowledged as he tucked a stray curl of hers behind her ear.

"No, it's definitely due to the artist's talent." Caroline argued as she began to flip through the book. The top drawing was not only one of her, there were pages and pages of her. Her face, her hands, full body shots, some alone some with the twins. "How long have you been drawing these?"

"For months." Klaus admitted. "You invaded my mind and I thought of you a lot. I knew I shouldn't have because I thought that nothing would come of it. I tried to stop thinking about you but I couldn't. So I drew you."

Caroline opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. What could you say to the man who had not been drawing you for months in an effort to take his mind off the fact that he couldn't have her but had shown them to her to show her how he saw her. Moreover what she saw on the paper didn't just display what he saw on the outside but on the inside. When she couldn't come up with the right words to express her thoughts, she showed them in a different way by leaning forward and kissing him.

He reacted instantly to the feeling of her lips on his. They devoured each other desperately; lips moving to seek out the others. His mouth was hot and urgent over hers, almost instantly taking over the contact. Their tongues tangled with each other, making the kiss even more enthusiastic and passionate. This continued for a few minutes, before Caroline broke the kiss.

Klaus was puzzled by her actions when she ended the kiss and started to pull away. Her hand trailed down his arm before she laced her fingers through his and she backed towards the door. "Take me to bed, Klaus. Please."

He knew that after the long emotional evening that they had had, he should try to be chivalrous and tell her that they should wait. That they didn't have to take this step yet, they could just enjoy each other's company, maybe sleep in the same bed and leave it at that. But he couldn't, not when he wanted her so badly and she was looking at him the way she was. So he let her lead him out of his studio and across the hall to his bedroom.

Caroline glanced briefly around as they entered but her mind was not on the room but the owner of it. When they reached the middle, not too far from his bed, she released the hold she had on his hand and waited for him to make the next move. She had brought them in there, now she was in his hands to go forward.

As he looked into her eyes, Klaus could see that she was looking to him to take the next step. His eyes dropped to her parted lips before moving forward. He placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth and then moved to the other. He nibbled gently at her lips then alternated to feather soft kisses all the while his thumbs rubbed slow circles across her cheeks. He felt the start of her desire due to the tension of her body. She attempted to deepen the kiss but his hands held her firmly in place until he was ready. Instead, he continued teasing her by nipping and brushing lightly against her lips.

Klaus ran his hands from her face down her neck, over her shoulders and down her sides before reaching her hips. He turned her around, so that her back was to his front. He brought his hand up to the zipper of her dress before dragging it slowly down, running his knuckles along the newly bared skin reveling in the softness of it, as his lips peppered her shoulders with kisses. Once the zipper reached the bottom, he released it and moved his hands up, this time to her head. He reached for one of the red rose hair pins that had been holding her hair back and gently pulled it out.

Caroline was so focused on the feeling of his lips on her shoulders that she didn't notice where his hands were until she felt the sensation of the pins being removed from her hair causing the curls they held to tumble down. She had never thought that removing them could feel so sensual but the feeling of his fingers running over her scalp as he searched for all of the pins gave her chills. Once they were all removed, Klaus combed his fingers through them, so that her hair was completely free. "I think someone has a bit of a hair fetish."

"Perhaps." Klaus admitted as he turned her back around to face him. While she had looked beautiful before, now she was the portrait of a siren with her ruffled curls framing her face. Even in the low light, he could easily see the arousal in her bright blue orbs as well as anticipation. Klaus cupped her chin in his thumb and index finger before leaning down to press a lingering kiss to her lips.

As their lips separated, Caroline's eyes remained closed as she focused on the sensation of Klaus's fingertips skimming lightly over her collarbone until he moved to her shoulders where he pulled down the top of her dress until it gathered at her waist, leaving her bare to him. She whimpered softly when his fingers trailed down to graze softly over her left breast, caressing the soft skin. When one fingertip circled the nipple, she moaned before the digit was replaced by Klaus's mouth. A gasp was ripped from her throat when he closed his mouth over the small peak, flicking his tongue over it the tight bud.

Klaus continued to worship her body with gentle strokes of his tongue, as he toed off his shoes and removed his socks. He felt Caroline's small hands come up to run through his hair, before she tugged it to bring him back up to her mouth. This time she was the one to control the kiss, nipping at his bottom lip with her teeth. When he felt her tongue enthusiastically reached out to trace where her teeth had marked him, he allowed the kiss to deepen.

Caroline ran her hands down the front of his chest, before coming to the top of his vest. She quickly unbuttoned it before pulling the material of his shirt underneath out of his waistband. When they broke their kiss Caroline moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered, "Take your shirt off."

Klaus stepped back slightly, just enough to raise his hands up to his collar where he undid his tie before he started to undo the buttons. When his shirt hung open, he moved to his wrists to take away the cufflinks. Caroline's eyes roamed over the skin that was now revealed to her. She remembered the first time she had seen him shirtless a couple of months before but now she was able to ogle him without feeling embarrassed or worried at being caught. She recognized the scars that marred the smooth expanse of his chest as well a tiny bit of his ink that was exposed. But it wasn't those marks she was focusing on, it was muscles of his upper chest and the hard planes of his abs. She had felt them pressed against her several times and couldn't wait to feel his naked skin against hers.

When the cuffs were gone, Klaus let the shirt slide down over his shoulders and down his arms before he tossed it aside. Now that he was free of the garment, Caroline ran her hands up over his chest, exploring what she had been studying with her fingertips. His upper body felt both hard and soft, hard muscles covered with soft skin that was warm to the touch. Her exploration moved up until she came to his shoulders. She entwined her fingers at the base of his neck, pulling his face down to her to capture his lips while her fingers moved down to wander over his shoulders and back. Klaus felt goose bumps run along his skin when she traced her nails down the length of his spine and up again. He broke the kiss and lowered his head, burying it in the crook of her neck, nuzzling the soft skin there before he began to suck on the spot right over her jugular.

Caroline inhaled a ragged breath at the action causing her to drop her head back. Klaus' mouth wandered lower and found her collarbone, then her breast again, evading her nipple and trailing lower, causing Caroline's breathing to become increasingly labored. She couldn't keep herself from gently scraping her nails over his curls as he knelt in front of her, adorned her stomach with butterfly kisses. She felt a brief moment of insecurity in regards to her own scars but when she felt his lips press against said scars, they flew out of her mind. The skin was very sensitive to the feel of his lips and tongue, something she had no idea of since his lips were the only ones to ever touch them.

Klaus moved his hands to where her dress was gathered. He looked up and caught her eyes as he slowly pulled down the dress over her hips and down her legs ever so slowly, letting his hands brush along her outer thighs and her calves all the way down, leaving fire in their wake. With her dress removed, all that was left to cover Caroline was a little piece of red satin and lace. Klaus let his fingers roam over more of the newly exposed flesh as he rose. As his hands reached her ass, he squeezed it before lifting her up. His mouth found hers again as he started moving them towards his big bed.

Caroline squeaked out in surprise at his actions but realized his intentions quickly. When they reached the edge of the bed, he kneeled on the mattress before he lowered her down. He continued to ravish her lips before trailing open mouth kisses down her jaw, her neck, and torso until he was kneeling between her thighs. His hands traveled up again over her legs and she relished in the feel of them. They were soft and rough at the same time. She knew that they were the hands of an artist whose skin would be calloused from his work and she loved it. When they reached the waistband of her panties, he hooked his fingers into the straps and slowly drew them down until they too were removed and he tossed them behind him.

He took a moment to take in the sight of Caroline lying sprawled on the dark blue sheets of his bed before he moved his hands up her legs and caressed the outside of her thighs, parting her legs as he did. Moving at an achingly slow pace, Klaus pressed a gentle kiss to the inside of her left thigh. He inched upwards, placing a trail of small kisses and licks on the smooth flesh. Caroline's breath came in ragged pants now and she felt herself becoming wetter with every kiss and lick he placed on her.

As soon as Klaus reached her center, he teasingly brushed his lips over her folds causing Caroline to whimper and her hips to jerk up on their own volition. "Klaus..."

Thankfully, Klaus did not stop; he flicked his tongue over the small bundle of nerves there before slowly pushing one finger into her. She couldn't help the wanton moan that came out of her mouth as he continued to caress her with his lips and tongue as he pumped into her over and over. When he added a second finger and he curled them, her moans grew louder as she withered under his hands. It wasn't long before Caroline felt the familiar pleasurable ripples stirring in her lower body and traveling up her spine.

The ripples soon turned to ecstasy that was so overwhelming that her hands moved to the back of his head and her hips pushed up into the ministrations of his tongue. He responded knowingly by closing his teeth over her clit. The action set off fireworks behind her eyes and waves of intense pleasure coursed through her body.

Klaus watched Caroline shudder under his ministrations as he eased her down from her climax, gently stroking her. When she was more composed, he removed his hand from her. He slid up between her parted legs and placed a gentle kiss on her mouth. Her lips eagerly parted and her tongue traced his bottom lip demanding entrance. Caroline wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him farther down on her, forcing him to rest more of his weight on her body.

He brought his left hand up to cup and massage her breast, before breaking the kiss to gaze at her. She looked radiant in the afterglow of her climax, a light sheen of sweat shimmered on her skin and a satisfied smile adorned her face. He couldn't stop himself from bending forward for another kiss. Despite the fact that his erection felt almost painful after watching Caroline climax, their movements were slow and languid.

Caroline watched Klaus' face while his eyes were fixed on hers the entire time. She reached into the open fly, past his boxers and took hold of his sizable length. She stroked him boldly, moving up and down the length in a slow steady rhythm. She looked into Klaus' eyes and saw that the blue orbs were almost completely black with desire so she decided to torment him longer. However, Klaus did not agree and halted her hand. He pushed it aside before he reached down to strip off the slacks with his boxers and toss them in the general direction of where their other clothes had gone. As soon as Klaus was naked on top of her again Caroline reached out and positioned him at her entrance.

"Look at me Caroline." Klaus demanded. As their gazes locked, he rocked his lower body forward to slowly penetrate her, entering her inch by inch to stretch her so she could take him all in. However, she had had enough of this torture and hooked her legs around his waist to attempt to get him in as deep as possible. Klaus pushed in deep, feeling her inner walls gripping him tightly. He wanted so much to quicken his tempo but instead set a gentle pace, slowly moving in and out of her core.

Klaus continued this pace for some time only changing the angle a little; causing his pelvic bone to grind against her clit with every push in. Caroline felt as if she was going to shatter, as with each stroke the tension grew higher. Gradually the pace began to accelerate, movements becoming more vigorous, as passion flared. Yet Klaus still held back, wanting to see her face as release overwhelmed her. She was so passionate and wild, his body was screaming for release, but as she tightened around him he kept thrusting, drawing out her pleasure for as long as he could

"Klaus, please." Caroline begged. It was all becoming too much, she felt so pleasurably full and her body felt like it was wound too tight. She needed the release.

Eyes still locked, their bodies moved faster, rougher, commanding the end outcome. Klaus reached between them and gently stroked her clit. He tormented her in that manner for a minute before taking her by surprise by pinching the bundle of nerves between his fingers. She arched, her whimpers rising in pitch, until he drove into her one more time and she finally did shatter, shuddering, the waves of pleasure radiating up through her body.

He felt her inner walls clamping down on him and her nails raking down his shoulders and back. Her reaction made his restraint slip and he released the control he had been holding onto. Her walls gripped his shaft like a vice, his control was gone and he came deep inside her.

His orgasm exploded through his body and he continued to pump into her until he was spent. He lowered himself down, onto her, burying his face in her neck again as they both recovered. After a few moments, Klaus rolled off of Caroline, but he did not let her go, instead taking her with him.

As she lay wrapped in his arms, Caroline listened as his heart eventually slowed to a normal tempo. She cuddled against him, her head cushioned in the curve of his shoulder with her arm tossed across his chest, with her palm resting directly on top of his heart, as if staking her claim. She was trying to keep her eyes open when she felt Klaus' hand on her chin. He tilted her face up to him before planting a soft kiss on her lips. "Sleep, Caroline."

Within minutes of her moving her head back to its previous spot, Klaus heard as well as felt Caroline's breathing even out until she was sound asleep. He looked down and saw her hand clutched to his chest, her hair fanning out behind her onto the pillow. Before he could stop himself, he reached down and began to run his fingers through her silken tresses. His last thoughts as he too drifted to sleep was that this night wasn't only the beginning of something new for his sister and her new husband but also he and Caroline.

**So what did you think? Was it everything that you hoped for? Next part will be the morning after.**

**Oh, and if anyone wants to know the reason behind the title of this part, it comes from a discussion I had on Tumblr. I mentioned how after the last part that everyone was asking for smut and peanutmm mentioned how they could just drink wine and play a game of Risk. Well several of us grabbed a hold of that and went with it so it became this thing and I had to put it in here somewhere. **

**Now that they are together, what kind of scenes would you like to see of them adjusting to their new relationship? I have some planned but always love to hear what you guys would like to see. BTW, the conversation about the kids will be in the next part. **


	34. Part 33 The Morning After

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies! Sorry the update was a bit late this week. Things have been a bit crazy for me. It looks like almost everyone was happy with the last part. Now we enter into the part of the story where we see Klaroline dealing with the changes that comes with being together. **

**I have put a new poll on my profile page, please check it out so I can see what you think.**

**Thanks to Becky, Erika, Ashley and Alex for their help with this part. **

Part 33 The Morning After

The first thing Klaus became aware of when he woke was the missing weight of Caroline's head on his chest. Figuring she had simply shifted in her sleep, he rolled over but his arm met nothing but empty sheets. His eyes snapped open and he sat up to look around the room. Caroline was nowhere in sight. He felt his heart sink a little at the thought that after everything, she had woken up this morning with regrets and had ran off.

However when he spotted the red dress that he had taken off of her the night before still lying in a heap on the floor, which meant that either she had ran out without it, or she was somewhere in the house naked. He really hoped it was the latter and decided to go search for her.

Klaus quickly slipped on his boxers before heading out of his bedroom. As he made his way down the stairs, he was about to check her room when the scent of coffee told him exactly where she was. He found her the moment he walked into the kitchen; she was filling up two mugs of coffee, wearing only his dress shirt from the night before and a pair of fluffy purple socks. The combination with her mused curls made him think that she had never looked sexier to him.

As she filled up her coffee cup, Caroline suddenly had the feeling of being watched. She looked over her shoulder and saw that she wasn't alone. Klaus was standing just inside the door staring at her. She felt a little unsure of herself in the light of day. Not about him, just exactly how to act around him. The whole scene felt both a little strange but also familiar. Her and Klaus started the day together with coffee in the kitchen several times a week, but never without the kids or dressed so minimally. Not that she minded a bit in his choice to come down only wearing his boxers. Nevertheless the lack of clothes and his messy hair were clear indicators of what they had been up to the night before. She lowered her eyes a bit when his gaze became too intense. "Morning."

Klaus smiled at her as he moved into the kitchen towards her. "Good morning, Love."

"Morning." Caroline repeated feeling instantly stupid for it. She held up one of the mugs to him.

"Coffee?"

"Thank you." Klaus acknowledged. "I was quite surprised when I woke up alone in bed."

"Um...yeah. I needed some caffeine, since I didn't get much sleep last night," She replied, then winced at how it sounded. She hadn't meant to make it sound as suggestive as it came out though.

Klaus lifted his eyebrow at her over the top of his mug. Once he swallowed the hot liquid, he smirked her. "If I recall correctly, you were the one who woke me up, quite deliciously as a matter of fact."

Caroline couldn't help but blush a little at the memory of how exactly she had woken him up. It's not like any woman in their right mind could blame her after all, when you wake up in the arms of a naked man as gorgeous as Klaus, it was hard to keep your hands to yourself. "Yeah, well I can still blame you."

"Is that why you stole my shirt?" Klaus asked as put down his mug. He moved over so that there were only inches between them as he reached out and played with the buttons that rested between her breasts.

Caroline's breath hitched a little at the heat she could feel from his fingers through the shirt. She wasn't sure if her hands were steady enough to not spill her coffee on the two of them so she set it down quickly next to his and tried to reply. "Nooo. It…I was cold when I got out of bed and it was the closest thing I could find, since I didn't exactly feel like putting my dress back on or walk around the house naked. You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all. Actually I think it looks a lot better on you than me." He praised as he moved his hand up to her face. Her eyes looked everywhere except directly at him. His fingertips brushed her cheek, feeling the soft skin there before he cupped her chin. "Caroline, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You are doing everything you can to not look at me, and you are shuffling your feet back and forth like you are nervous." Klaus explained. "Look at me."

It took her a minute but Caroline finally directed her blue eyes to look up at him. He could tell that she wanted to look away but was staying steady. "You aren't regretting last night, are you?"

"No." Caroline answered.

"Then what is it?"

"I'm not sure how to act exactly now." She replied. "I mean last night was wonderful, but this morning is pretty surreal. I'm standing in the same kitchen I am in every morning with you but now things are different, we are different and I'm not sure how I should be acting."

Klaus couldn't help but smile at her babbling. He moved his thumb to caress her chin a little before replying. "Act however you want Caroline, however makes you feel comfortable. Because I don't want you to feel as if you have to walk on eggshells or act a certain way. I'm quite familiar with you and I enjoy you."

She smiled tenderly at him before she moved forward and brought her lips to meet his. The kiss started soft, teasingly but he wanted more. His mouth pressed over hers urgently, his tongue parting her lips to deepen it.

His hand dropped from her face before he brought his arms around her, so that he could press her body fully against him. Caroline couldn't help but think of how similar this was to the dream she had had about them in Barbados. However, this time it wasn't a dream and she could indulge in him without a guilty conscience.

When her body hit the counter behind her, Klaus brought his hands down to her thighs before lifting her up and sitting her on the surface. Though she was seated securely, it didn't stop her from bringing her legs up to wrap around him so that she could keep him pressed close against her. She rolled her hips a little to grind against him. She wore nothing under his shirt so the only thing that separated her core from his obvious arousal through the thin material of his boxers. Something he seemed to realize. He pulled his lips away from hers before traveling down her neck, kissing, tasting, and sucking as he moved lower.

Despite what he was doing to her, Caroline was still somehow aware of what was going on around her and when her eyes landed on a drawing on the fridge, she couldn't stop herself from blurting out.

"How are we going to do this?"

Klaus pulled away from her neck to look at her quizzically. "Well, love, if you don't know, then we didn't do it right the first couple of times."

She lightly smacked him on the shoulder as she rolled her eyes. "Not that. This." She replied as she motioned between the two of them and then the room around them. "Us and the twins, telling them. We never talked about it last night."

"No, we didn't, did we? I believe you distracted me before we could." Klaus teased as he returned to the spot on her neck where he had left off. He slid his hands up from their place on her outer thighs to her hips. He had been very much aware a minute ago at how little she wore underneath and very much wanted to get back to that. All it would take was a shift of his boxers for the barrier between them to be gone and he could be inside of her again.

What the man in front of her was doing to her neck was positively sinful and though she really wanted to give in, and let him have his way with her, even there on the counter, she tried to focus on what she had been saying. "I'm serious. This is a big change."

He could tell by the sound of her voice how serious she was so he unhooked her legs from around his waist and held his hand out to help her down from the counter. As he did, he tried not to show the disappointment he felt at not being able to continue what they had started and attempted to get his body to calm down. Not an easy feat considering what they had been doing or the fact that she was still so close to him dressed only in his shirt.

"I know it is sweetheart, I'm well aware of the fact. However, it's not as if I have any kind of past experience with these matters."

"Me either. I've never dated anyone who had a child or children, let alone children that I already have a relationship with," Caroline replied as she thought over things. "Should we even tell them yet? I mean, this is a brand new thing for us and though I haven't done this before, isn't it typical that single parents don't bring in the kids right away?"

"Again, no experience here and this isn't exactly a typical situation," Klaus stated. Though now that she mentioned it, it probably was the best idea for them to hold off a minute before telling Henry and Lexi. He and Caroline were so new and they needed to find their footing without the kids being stuck in the middle and with hearts in their eyes directed at them. They were already so attached to Caroline, especially Henry, that he wouldn't be surprised if once they did tell them, that the twins would expect them to get married the next week. Their ideas on romance and relationships were still that innocent.

"But I agree; we should hold off on telling them. As well as everyone else or we'll risk the twins finding out before we can tell them."

"So we just wait and tell them whenever it feels right?" Caroline asked. She needed some adjustment time to deal with her new status with Klaus before it all came out. After all, if this was a relationship with anyone else, she wouldn't be telling anyone about it for a little while.

"Well the twins have been begging me to take them down to Orlando for their birthday," Klaus replied. "What if we take them down there next month when they are on break and tell them then?"

Caroline couldn't help but laugh at his suggestion. "You want to bribe your kids by taking them to the Happiest Place on Earth to like your girlfriend?"

"No, they already love you, I'm bribing them to let me share you with them." Klaus explained. "In case you weren't aware, they are a tad protective of you so bribery is probably the way to go."

"Then I guess we are going to Disneyworld." Caroline agreed before her thoughts went into planning mode. "If we are going to go next month there's going to be so much to do. I need to make a list and..."

Klaus listened for a minute as Caroline started listing off everything that they needed, and he knew that she could go on for awhile like this. While things needed to be done, they could wait a little while. They only had a few more hours alone and he wanted to take advantage of that. So he decided he was going to have to do something to get her mind off of it for the moment.

Caroline's mind was going a mile a minute with all of the plans she needed to start working on that she didn't even realize that he had moved until she felt herself being suddenly lifted off of the floor. His hold on her legs forced her to wrap them around him or risk falling. "Klaus! What are you doing?"

"Just taking advantage of having an empty house," Klaus informed her as his mouth covered hers for a moment, kissing her quickly before moving up her jaw, to her neck again. He lifted her a little higher so that he was able to lower his mouth to the top of her chest while he walked towards the staircase before climbing them. "Keep talking, I don't mind."

'Seriously?' was all Caroline could think of as she tried to remember what she had been talking about. Right, the twins' trip. "I need to start searching online, see what...um...I can find..."

"Mmmhmm?" Klaus asked when he reached the top of the stairs and pressed her against the wall for a moment.

"...on plane tickets, hotel reservations, tickets to the parks..." Caroline stuttered as Klaus tugged open the top two buttons of her shirt with his teeth, allowing him complete access to her breasts. He left wet open mouth kisses along the swells before taking one of her nipples in his mouth, causing her to throw her head back and moan. "You're making this very hard you know."

He released her with a quiet pop as he smirked at her. "I don't think I'm the one making things hard here, love."

Caroline gasped in pleasure as he jerked his hips against her to show her exactly what he meant before he rested his forehead against hers. "Caroline, you're babbling, and I enjoy listening to every word that comes out of your mouth but just know that I'm going to take you into your room and make love to you again and again... so if you want to keep talking, go ahead but pretty soon you'll be screaming whatever it is you say."

Not waiting for a response, Klaus pulled them back away from the wall and headed down towards her bedroom. His was too far away. They could talk later, right now he just wanted to enjoy some time with his girlfriend.

/

"Oh, God!" Caroline moaned.

Klaus watched as her eyes rolled back in her head and her lips curled in a satisfied smile. "Enjoying yourself love?"

She nodded her head vigorously in answer. "Yes, but I want more."

"You can have as much as you want." He replied. "Do you have a choice of what you want next?"

"Um, how about some of the noodles?" Caroline answered as she pointed the takeout container with her chopsticks. Klaus handed the container to her before reaching for the one she'd been enthusiastically enjoying for himself. She waited until he took a bite before she spoke. "It's unbelievable isn't it?"

Klaus shrugged. "It's good, I don't think I'll be as passionate about my enjoyment of it as you were."

Caroline couldn't stop her from teasing him, "Jealous?"

"Not at all," Klaus replied with a nod of his head before a wolfish smile appeared on his face. "Because the noises I brought out of you were much more vocal and...numerous."

At his words and the memories of what they brought up, she felt her body heat up with arousal again even though it was still relaxed and tingling from their earlier coupling. She had a feeling that this was going to be a regular thing for her now, feeling both sated and aroused.

Klaus saw the red blush tinting Caroline's cheeks and knew that his words had done exactly what he wanted them to do. They lounged there eating and enjoying being around each other. After their last round, Caroline had said she was spent until she could get some food into her system. So they had ordered in and were now eating and relaxing on her bed, enjoying a bit of a picnic lunch.

From his spot reclining against her headboard, he looked around at the various containers, Caroline on the other side of them sitting cross legged at the foot of her bed, now dressed in a tank top and pair of tiny shorts. She had put them on claiming that they were more decent than her just wearing his shirt but he was pretty sure she was less covered. Not that he was complaining. However the food and her state of undress did bring something to the forefront of his mind. "I should have taken you out to get lunch, instead ordering in."

"Why?" Caroline asked confused. "We have everything we need here and it's nice."

"As nice as this is, I plan to take you out for a proper meal soon sweetheart. I don't want you to think that I want to keep us strictly in the bedroom." Klaus answered.

"I don't. After all, it's not like this is going to be happening all of the time." She assured him as she put her food aside and crawled up onto his lap. His hands came up to rest on her hips while she settled onto him comfortably. "Once Henry and Lexi come home, we'll be back to each of us in our own beds."

"It's going to test my resolve greatly knowing you are down here, alone wearing only these skimpy pajamas every night." Klaus commented as he brought one hand up to play with the strap of her top.

"Well maybe we can figure something out where you'll be going to bed alone, but not frustrated." She said with a smile. "But first, I thought maybe I could make dinner tonight for the four of us."

"Caroline, I don't want you to feel like you have to." Klaus stated. "I'm normally the one who makes dinner on Sundays."

"I'm not doing it because I have to, I want to. I want to make dinner for ...my boyfriend?" Caroline said in question, not sure exactly what his title would be: Boyfriend? Lover? However, Klaus answered her implied question with a nod and she smiled before continuing. "My boyfriend and his kids. Just have a quiet dinner before the weekend is over."

"Then please do, but I highly doubt the dinner will be anything but quiet," he replied with a knowing smile. She returned his smile before she leaned in to kiss him but stopped when his phone rang. Recognizing the number, he quickly answered it. "Hello, Sage. Called to tell me you'll be returning my children to me soon?"

Caroline's smile returned as she listened to him talk. She slipped off his lap and reached for her own phone to check messages. There were a few text messages, from Elena and her dad but that was it. What was strange was that she hadn't gotten any from Bonnie. She hadn't heard anything from her friend since the night before at the wedding. She would have to call her soon. She put her phone away when she heard Klaus ending his call and turned back to him.

"What did Sage have to say?"

"Actually it was Lexi, she called to tell me that Sage would be bringing them home within the hour."

"That sounds like our cue to finish this up. I need to jump in the shower before I run to the store to get a few things," Caroline said. She started collect the containers to take them downstairs, but paused when she felt his arm snake around her waist.

"How about some company in the shower?" Klaus asked, his mouth close to her ear. He was surprised when Caroline shook her head and squirmed out of his grasp.

"As appealing as that sounds, and believe me it does, I don't think that's a good idea. I know exactly what would happen in there and we have things to get done," she explained. "So I'm going to go take a shower in my bathroom, you go use your own."

Klaus wanted to argue, but could see the conviction in her eyes on her decision. He moved forward, her watching him warily as if she thought he was up to something but instead he took the food from her hands with the intention of taking them for her. "As you wish sweetheart, but the offer stands if you want to join me."

**Caroline watched him walk away, still clad in only boxers, before quickly turning away to busy herself cleaning up what was left. Anything to keep her from taking him up on his offer.**

**So what did you think? Too fluffy? For those of you who wanted Morning after smut, sorry to disappoint. **

**What do you guys think of them making the decision to wait to tell the kids? I know it probably surprises some of you but if they were in an ordinary relationship where they didn't live together, etc they wouldn't be announcing their new relationship then either. **


	35. Part 34 Reveltions

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies, here is the update for this week.**

**Thanks to klarolineepiclove and a-little-blonde-distraction for their help and Cecevolume for being my wonderful beta!**

**This part is a little bit of a filler part. **

Part 34

After a quick shower, and a kiss goodbye from Klaus that wasn't exactly quick or innocent, Caroline finally made it out the door and on her way. She wanted to leave the house before the twins got home because she knew if she didn't, she would be delayed. As happy as Caroline would be to see the twins, she needed to go to the store and before that, she wanted to go check on Bonnie. She'd texted her before she jumped in the shower and still hadn't heard anything back which was not okay.

She called her friend twice on the way to her place, but it just went to voicemail and she was starting to get really worried. She had called Elena as well but all her friend could tell her about Bonnie was that she was fine when Elena and Damon left the wedding. Elena had offered to ride home with her but Bonnie had assured her that she'd be fine and that was the last she had spoken with her.

As soon as she reached the door, Caroline started to knock rapidly. She didn't care if she bothered the neighbors, she'd worry about that after she saw Bonnie. Her hand was just starting to hurt from the pounding, when she heard the locks being thrown on the other side. A few seconds later, the door opened and there stood Bonnie, perfectly safe if not a bit rumbled.

Caroline rushed inside, before wrapping her arms around her friend in a tight hug. "Bonnie, thank God you are okay."

"Caroline? What are you talking about?" Bonnie asked confused at her friend's sudden appearance.

"I'm talking about the fact that you scared the hell out of me." Caroline scolded, now that she knew Bonnie was okay, the worry she had felt was replaced with anger. "Why is your phone turned off? Do you know what kinds of thoughts were going through my head when you didn't text me or answer my calls?"

"Sorry, Mom. Didn't know I had to report in." Bonnie joked.

"Funny," She replied. "But I'm serious. No one has heard from you since last night and I was worried that something happened to you. I mean we kind of left you all by yourself last night."

"Caroline, it's fine, I'm fine. I left the wedding last night, stopped off for another drink and then came home. Really everything is good." Bonnie assured her.

"Wait a minute, who did you stop to have a drink with? Because I know you would never go on your own to a bar." Caroline asked before her eyes got big as realization. "Bonnie Bennett! You didn't hook up with who I think you hooked up with did you?"

She had barely gotten the questions out of her mouth when a male voice called out from Bonnie's bedroom. "Is that Caroline I hear out there?"

Caroline's eyes widened even more and her mouth dropped open when she recognized the voice. "KOL? When I teased you last night about having a Mikaelson brother I didn't mean to actually 'have' him."

Bonnie hand came up to the bridge of her nose as if she was trying to fend off a headache as she listened to Caroline carry on.

"What happened?" Caroline asked. She didn't have a problem with her friend seeing Kol, after all she had noticed the sparks between them the night before but it was a shock to walk in after they had slept together. Bonnie normally waiting longer before getting into bed with guys. Bonnie and Kol? Seriously?

"Well, darling, if you are asking for a play by play, I'm guessing that you left my brother alone last night." Kol explained when he appeared in the doorway of Bonnie's bedroom wearing nothing but his pants from the night before. Granted she had seen him in less at the beach but the man had no modesty at all, she was starting to think it was a family trait.

"Kol, I told you, I begged you to stay in my room." Bonnie chastised him.

"But you didn't say I couldn't say anything. And it's rude to not greet a friend when they stop by," Kol said cheekily before turning back to Caroline. "How are you today, lovely Caroline?"

"Good, I'm good." Caroline answered. "Especially now that I know why my friend wasn't answering her phone."

"Sorry about that, I seem to have kept her occupied," Kol stated, not a hint of apology in his tone.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at his ego. "Can you go back into my room please so that I can talk to Caroline?"

"I'll leave you two girls to chat but just know that I'll be thinking of ways to get back into your good graces once you join me, little witch." Kol said seductively to Bonnie before turning to Caroline. "Nice to see you, Caroline."

Caroline watched Kol head back the way he had came to Bonnie's bedroom and once he was through the door, she looked at her friend. "Little witch?"

Bonnie just shook her head. "He said that my beauty casted a spell on him."

"Well, no one can accuse the Mikaelson men of lacking in charm," Caroline said with a laugh. "Even Henry; I think they are born with it."

"Does that mean that you fell for a certain other Mikaelson's charms?" Bonnie asked curiously, eyebrow raised in question.

"We went home, he found the resignation letter I gave him, we talked about it, I agreed to stay, and then we went to bed." Caroline answered, trying to stay as vague as possible. She felt guilty for not telling Bonnie when the night before she had told her that she would. But her and Klaus had agreed not to tell anyone yet and she was sticking to that.

"That's it?" Her friend asked, the doubt obvious in her voice. "Why don't I believe you?"

"I have no idea. But if something had happened, it would be too early to tell friends and stuff. You know what I mean?" Caroline replied. She knew Bonnie and knew that if she thought she was lying then she would pick at her until she gave up all of the details about her and Klaus, maybe now she bought herself some leeway. "Besides, we weren't talking about me, we were talking about you. So are you two like a thing now?"

"No, I mean." Bonnie faltered as she tried to answer. "I like him, the sex was...phenomenal but I don't want anything serious. I mean, things with Luka were so back and forth over the last year that I just can't yet."

"Does Kol know this?"

Bonnie shrugged. "We didn't exactly talk a lot."

"BONNIE!" Caroline whispered teasingly.

"I didn't mean it like that! We talked, just not about what is going to happen after." She explained. "I figured we'd see what happens when he leaves and go from there."

"Well I don't think you have to worry too much, I can see Kol being fine with either option." Caroline stated. "And I'll leave the two of you to figure that out because I need to get going. I was running an errand but wanted to check up on you first."

Bonnie reached over and hugged her friend. "Thanks for looking out for me, I'll call you later."

After returning her friend's hug and yelling to Kol a goodbye, Caroline left Bonnie's apartment to head to the store. She was happy for Bonnie, whether she kept seeing Kol or not. She couldn't believe what she had found, and wanted to tell Klaus right away but decided to wait until she got home, this was definitely news you told in person.

/

Sage wasn't sure what she expected when she made her way into her brother-in-law's house.

After all she had had Lexi call ahead to let him know they were coming so it's not like she expected to walk in and see Caroline straddling Klaus on the couch with their lips locked together, but she'd expected to see something when they walked in. With the way the two were having eye sex on the dance floor the night before, she was sure that something either romantic or at least sexual would happen between the two of them if they were alone together without the kids.

However, when Henry opened the door, all Sage saw on the other side was an empty house. No Klaus or Caroline in sight. She was starting to wonder if perhaps the two might be otherwise engaged in one of the bedrooms when he suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs. She watched as he greeted his twins, noticed that he looked freshly showered but nothing else stood out.

Sage glanced around into the living room and kitchen but didn't see the blonde she was looking for and thanks to her niece, she was able to find out the answer to her unspoken question.

"Dad, is Caroline here?" Lexi asked. "I want to show her the bracelet I made with Sarah."

"No, sweetheart, she's not here." Klaus told her. "I'd love to see it though."

A few minutes later after Lexi had shown her father the bracelet, the two kids went upstairs to put their stuff away, leaving Sage with him. He turned and smiled at her. "I hope they weren't too much trouble."

"They were fine; I think Finn is worn out though." She replied. "I hope you took advantage of a kid free house."

"I did." Klaus answered, a smirk on his face.

"Oh really?" Sage inquired, her eyebrow raised in question. Now that she got a closer look at him, she could see there was something in his eyes that said there was a secret behind that smile.

"Yes, I've spent many hours upstairs, working with a new medium." Klaus answered. He knew that his sister in law would assume that he had been working in his studio but it was another work of art that had kept him occupied; a blonde beautiful one.

"So where is Caroline?" She asked casually. "I didn't get much of a chance to talk to her last night."

"She mentioned needing to run an errand, but I'm not entirely sure. Sunday is her day off after all." He informed her. It was the truth, Caroline had said that she was going to run to the grocery store to pick up a few ingredients that she needed for dinner as well as another errand. Something to do with her friend Bonnie.

"Did she get a chance to enjoy the empty house as well?"

He wasn't sure if it was something in her voice or the look on her face but Sage's question made him realize something. "Why do I have the feeling that you set the kids up for this sleepover?"

"Why would I ever do that?" Sage asked.

"To play matchmaker between Caroline and myself perhaps?" Klaus answered. "Just like another dear sister in law of ours."

Sage simply shrugged. "You can't entirely blame us for trying to give the two of you a little bit of a push. We just want you, and the twins to be happy. You've done a fantastic job raising them on your own without thinking of yourself. I know that you would have gone on for years more alone but now Caroline, a woman who have come to care about, is in your lives. A woman that we think loves the twins just as much as you; it's obvious to anyone who looks at either one of you. Plus we all like her and you know how rare a feat that is for this family."

Klaus wanted to say something to her about not wanting his family to interfere in his lovelife but he had to admit that her and Katherine's scheming the night before to ensure that he and Caroline had the night to themselves had worked in his favor. However, he couldn't let her know how successful her plan had been. "I appreciate it, truly I do but no more interfering and matchmaking. If something is to happen between Caroline and myself, it will happen when we choose for it to."

She nodded. Him admitting that there was something between he and Caroline made her curious as to what had indeed happened the night before. But she didn't press. "Well now that I've delivered my niece and nephew back to you, I should get back home before my kids take advantage of their sleepy father."

A few minutes later, after saying goodbye to Klaus, Henry, and Lexi, Sage was dialing Katherine from her car. It only rang twice before the call connected. "So, what happened?"

"Hello to you too, Katherine."

"Yeah, hello Sage, how are you? Okay, pleasantries have been said, now tell me what happened when you got to Nik's house." Katherine demanded.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean nothing?" Katherine exclaimed.

"I mean nothing. Niklaus was there, but Caroline was nowhere in sight. I grilled him on what he'd been doing with all of the adult time that I gave him and he figured out that I had set him up." Sage explained.

"Damn him and his intuitiveness." Katherine cried. "We'll have to figure something else out."

Sage shook her head, even though her sister in law couldn't see her. "Nope, not me. I'm done with this Katherine. He asked that we stop and I think we should."

"Why the hell should we do that? You saw them last night..."

"Look, if we keep this up, after he asked us not to all we are going to do is piss him off." Sage explained. "Besides, I really don't think they need anymore pushing."

"What makes you say that?" Katherine asked curiously.

"Call it a hunch." She answered. "There was just something in his smile that makes me think some kind of progress was made between the two of them. So just leave it alone okay?"

She heard Katherine huff on the other end before grumbling an agreement. Once they hung up, Sage just rolled her eyes. She hoped that she was right, otherwise Katherine was going to drive them all nuts with this mission of hers.

/

A few hours later, Caroline pulled the last dish out of the oven when she felt a pair of large hands grasp her hips from behind causing her to almost drop it. "Klaus?!"

"Who else?" He asked, as he placed a kiss on the side of her neck.

"What are you doing?" Caroline whispered unbelievably as she looked past him to make sure that they were alone.

"Sneaking a quick minute with you while the twins are engrossed in an Animal Planet documentary." Klaus explained. He hadn't gotten a second alone with her since she had left earlier. He had been busy with Henry and Lexi when she had gotten back to the house. She had come in and greeted them before becoming occupied in the kitchen.

She couldn't help but smile at his words. She wanted very much to turn around and snuggle into him yet she decided to tease him instead. "And you couldn't wait a couple of more hours until they went to bed?"

"Now that I know what it feels like to have you in my arms, it's hard sitting in the other room knowing you're in here." He replied as he moved closer before wrapping said arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder. He looked at all of the dishes in front of them, before adding. "Its smells divine."

"Thank you. And it's ready; we should call the twins in." Caroline replied though she didn't sound very convincing. She was enjoying this newfound intimacy if only for a minute. Perhaps she shouldn't have left so quickly earlier, she could have had a little bit more time with him but of course she had needed to talk to Bonnie. "Oh! You won't believe what or more accurately who I found at Bonnie's apartment earlier."

"Considering I am not that familiar with the company your friend keeps aside from you, I cannot hazard a guess." Klaus stated.

"Your brother Kol."

"Really?" He replied with surprise in his voice.

"Yep, it looks like you weren't the only one getting lucky last night." Caroline said with a giggle. She turned her head to the side to steal a kiss when they heard Henry calling out. "Is dinner ready yet?"

Klaus released his hold on her and backed away just as the boy came barreling into the room. He looked at the two of them of a minute before he added, "I'm hungry."

"Well then you are in luck, Sweetie, because it is ready. Your dad was just helping me get it out of the oven." Caroline said as she glanced over at Klaus. He nodded in agreement and smiled. "How else could I have snuck a taste when her back was turned?"

"Be careful, Dad, I burned my tongue doing that one time." Henry chastised.

"I'll be careful." He assured his son. "Now go get your sister so we can eat."

Caroline watched Henry scurried out to do what his father had asked, then looked at Klaus. "Snuck a taste huh?"

"I didn't say what I snuck a taste of." Klaus said, grinning wolfishly as he started to move towards her.

Moving quickly, Caroline twisted around, retrieved the stack of plates and silverware there, and shoved them at Klaus. "The table needs to be set since you were making sure that the kids were otherwise occupied."

Klaus took the plates from her begrudgingly and did as she asked. Henry and Lexi came in and took their seats at the table while Caroline started to bring over the food. The twins talked animatedly to the blonde across from him while shoveling food in their mouths. He wanted to reprimand them for their bad manners but he was enjoying the scene too much to spoil it.

Once the kids had eaten a majority of their dinner, Klaus decided it was time for his announcement. "So something is going on next month isn't it? Something important?"

"Our birthday!" The twins said simultaneously.

"That's right." He replied with a smile. "And because of that, I thought maybe this year we would only have a party just for family, no friend party."

"But, why?" Lexi argued. "I wanted…"

"Instead I thought we'd go on a little trip," Klaus said cutting her off. "And go down to Disney to celebrate."

Caroline wasn't sure how long it would take for her ears to recover from the high pitched screaming that came out of the twins' mouths but it was worth it to see the excitement in their faces. They started firing off question after question but she was only able to hear one.

"Can Caroline come with us?" The twins asked, "Please?"

"You want Caroline to come with us huh? Not just the three of us?" Klaus inquired, acting as if he was actually doubting how they would answer. When they nodded their answer, he looked over at Caroline. "Well then you guys should probably ask her."

Of course now that they believed they had their father's permission to ask her, the two of them turned their hopeful faces towards her. Henry was the first one to speak. "You'll go with us right Caroline?"

"You have to go, I'll be miserable in line with Dad and Henry to meet the princesses." Lexi added.

"I wouldn't miss it." Caroline answered, causing another round of shrieks to be heard from the kids before they started talking to each other about all of the stuff they were going to do. She caught Klaus' eyes across the table, smiling widely, as she enjoyed the rest of the meal.

**Okay does everyone else's teeth hurt as much as mine from how sweet and fluffy that was? I swear it won't continue to be this nauseating. **

**However I did give you all that bit of fluff to give you a bit of bad news. I won't be updating for a few weeks. This is the last week of school for my kids and so I'll be getting things going for our new summer schedule but also I'm in the middle of a very busy time at work and am slammed with that. And after starring at a computer screen all day at work, it's hard to do it at home to write as well. I hope you guys will come back when I do! **


	36. Part 35 Lunch Date

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies! How are you? I hope you are all well and enjoying your summer. Thank you for being patient with me, I hope the part is worth it.**

**Thanks to my wonderful friends, klarolineepiclove, a-little-blonde-distraction, jomosfamilyjewels, and approvesomuch for their help and cecevolume for betaing for me. **

**P.S. To the guest who asked me if my name really is Miranda, yes it is. Nice to meet another one!**

Part 35

As she reached the front stoop of the house, Caroline ended her run and headed up the stairs. It might still be winter outside but she had worked up quite a sweat on the run. She felt good, and knew that a shower would make her feel even better. Since she knew she was alone in the house, she stripped out of her outerwear as soon as she shut the door before she overheated more.

"Well if this is the welcome I can come to expect, I believe I will start coming home early every day." She heard Klaus' familiar voice saying from behind her. She whirled around at the sound and saw that he had a smug smile on his lips that matched the tone in his voice.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Caroline asked, a large smile blossoming on her face. She wanted to move forward to hug him but she was pretty gross at the moment and didn't want to mess up his button down shirt and slacks.

"I came to surprise you by taking you out to lunch, but it looks as if the surprise is on me and you are otherwise occupied." Klaus answered; a smile of his own on his face. "I guess I should have called you, though that would have ruined the surprise."

Caroline felt her heart sink in disappointment. She tried to get her runs in while the kids were in school and she was alone in the house, because it had worked best in the past. She never would have thought that Klaus would come home to surprise her in the middle of the day. "I don't know what you had planned for lunch, but we can still probably make it after I grab a quick shower."

"Considering I happen to be the boss and one of the owners, I don't think it would be a problem to take an extended lunch hour especially considering that I so rarely take a lunch outside of the office." Klaus replied. "Go shower, I'll wait for you."

She moved forward, planted a quick kiss on his lips before rushing up the stairs to her room. Spurred on by the excitement of going out on a semi-date with him, she quickly turned on the shower. It took her a few minutes to pick out something to wear, something casual but attractive, before jumping into the warm water.

Klaus watched her hurry up the stairs and couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. He was delighted to see the smile on her face when he had told her that he had come home to surprise her with lunch out and was thankful that his poor timing had not ruined his plans. A quick shower and they would be on their way.

However, that train of thought inevitably brought his brain around to imagine what Caroline was currently doing upstairs. She was more than likely already in the shower, and the image of her naked wet body filled his mind. It had been a couple of days since they had been together and while he had always had excellent self-control, he found that being near her constantly without being able to touch her was agony. True, he had been experiencing similar torment for months already but after knowing what it felt like to touch her, to be inside her, the agony had increased tenfold. Before he gave it a second thought, he started climbing the stairs; perhaps she might enjoy some company.

The first thing he was pleased to notice when he entered her room was that the water was still running. He didn't think she would have finished that quickly but it was possible considering her eagerness for them to go out. He also noticed that she had music playing in the background and he smiled devilishly. If he was lucky, he would be able to sneak in without her noticing.

He quickly stripped out of his clothes and shoes, laying them carelessly on the foot of her bed before slipping into the bathroom. The air was warm and steamy with a hint of the fruity scent fragrance he had smelled on her skin lingering in the air. The shower curtain was translucent and because of it, he could make out the shapely form of her body on the other side, causing his cock to twitch slightly in anticipation. She was washing her hair and thankfully, either her eyes were closed or she had not spotted him yet so he used it to his advantage to move forward.

Whatever small amount of noise his feet might have made against the tile, as well as the rustling of the shower curtain was drowned out by the music. The temperature in the shower stall was several degrees warmer than the outer room but it wasn't the temperature that heated up his body. Caroline looked like Aphrodite made flesh.

The front of her body was facing him, allowing his eyes to rake over every bit of her. The water from the shower rained down over her body, causing all of her glorious soft creamy skin to glisten invitingly. All he could think about was how slick she would feel as he ran his hands over that skin, familiarizing himself again with it before following it with his tongue.

He felt his mouth go dry as he watched the small streams of water run down her breasts that were jutted out due to the arc of her back, her nipples rosy and begging for attention from him. Her head was still thrown back as her fingers worked through her long hair, eyes shut and her mouth open slightly as if she was giving herself pleasure just by the act of washing her hair. She turned away from him then, displaying her back as well as her firm ass for him. He knew that she would be finishing soon and he had completely different plans for how he wanted her to end her shower.

Caroline about jumped out of her skin when she felt a large warm pair of hands lightly caress then rest on her hips. She would have screamed had they not been accompanied by a pair of familiar soft lips on her shoulder. He pressed them against the smooth skin of her shoulder before tracing circles on it with his tongue and lightly grazing it with his teeth. Caroline's eyes fluttered shut as he moved up to her neck, sucking gently at first, but then with increased pressure.

As his mouth continued its assault and his hands caressed her hips, the tension from the fright left her and she relaxed. "I don't remember you saying you were going to join me."

"I hadn't planned to, but the thought of you in here alone inspired me." He replied, his warm breath on her wet skin causing shivers to race through her.

"Ah, so you thought I might welcome some company?" She asked. "I think that this is going to defeat the purpose of a quick shower don't you?"

"I can be quick if the situation calls for it." Klaus replied. He knew that the water would cool eventually but he knew that the heat between them would fend off any chill.

"Well considering the water bill will be decreasing substantially now that I have you to alleviate my tension instead of the showerhead, I guess a long shower wouldn't be bad." Caroline stated. She felt his lips pause as he absorbed what she had said.

"Will it now?" He asked as his mind was filled with images of Caroline alone in this same shower, hopefully with thoughts of him in her mind as she used the showerhead to ease the needs of her body. He moved his hands up from her waist, caressing her stomach before moving higher to cup her breasts. "So tell me, just how often were you taking these showers?"

Caroline smiled at the husky tone to his voice. She knew he was imagining what she had said and that was exactly what she wanted. She could tell it was turning him on even more than he already was by the way he pulled her closer to him. His body was hot and firm behind her. She could feel the wet muscular planes of his chest against her, his hips nestling his erection against her backside. His mouth continued to leave warm moist kisses on her shoulder and up her throat as his hands moved over her breasts. He roughly massaged her chest, while his fingers pinched and twisted her nipples. Fire shot straight down to her core as he played with the sensitive tips and she couldn't stop herself from rocking her hips back into him.

"Caroline, you didn't answer me." Klaus said his lips curved into a knowing smirk. He knew what he was doing to her, if only by the way she was trying to rub against him. He had to bite back a groan of his own when her warm wet skin encountered his hardness but it was worth it to tease her. And he had only just begun.

"What?" She asked as she tried to concentrate on what he was saying. His mouth was pressed against her neck, kissing, nipping, the feel of his scruff brushing against her neck sending shivers through her.

"I asked how often were these showers?" He repeated.

"I don't know." She stuttered. "Whenever being around you became too much and cold showers didn't do it."

"So you were thinking of me while you were in here?" He murmured against her skin. The confirmation that she had been thinking about him while she had been taking care of her needs made his ego and other parts of him swell more and it took all of his willpower not to bend her over right then. Instead, he moved his right hand away from her breast, trailing his fingertips down her flat stomach before reaching his destination.

Caroline jumped when she felt him press his thumb against her clit. She moaned softly, she pushed against his hand as he started to rub gently. She could feel her eyes wanting to roll back in her head from the pleasure of his thumb sweeping back and forth across her bundle of nerves, all while his other hand continued his attention on her breast but she needed more. She needed to touch him in some way. Finally remembering that she had hands as well, she brought one up to his head, threading her fingers through his wet curls, and using them to pull his face away from her neck and up to her mouth.

Her lips crashed against his hungrily, as she tried to convey to him the desire she felt for him. He seemed to read her thoughts as his lips pressed against hers greedily, before she nipped at his bottom lip with her teeth. His lips parted automatically and their tongues intertwined.

The water continued to pour over them as they devoured each other and his hand stroked between her legs. His other hand left her breast, slithering down her torso to the inside of her thigh. His fingers pressed against the flesh there, pushing slightly before lifting the leg up and spreading her legs apart. When her foot landed on the tub ledge, Klaus moved his fingers to her opening, sliding one in just a little before drawing it back out and circling her sensitive folds.

All of the teasing movements sent Caroline into such a state that when his fingers pushed inside of her in a deep thrust, she arched back against his shoulder in pleasure. She broke away from his lips and cried out. "Klaus!"

"Let go Caroline…" He whispered, as he picked up the pace of his fingers. Every thrust of them brought her closer to the edge until she honestly believed she might be going insane from it. She felt him push into her one more time before she finally did shatter, shuddering, the waves of pleasure radiating up through her body.

Klaus watched her orgasm take her over as he continued to pump his fingers inside of her, working her down from her high. He kissed her tenderly as he removed his hand from inside her. His fingertips ran back up her body, stopping briefly to caress her heaving breasts. He brought one hand down to grip the arm that had had been resting at her side and the other moved up to the one threaded in his hair. He laced his fingers through hers and brought her hands up to rest against the wall in front of them.

Though her body was buzzing, aching and shuddering in the last tremors of her orgasm, Caroline felt herself heat up quickly when she felt Klaus positioning her hands on the tile in front of them. He hadn't taken her like this before and she couldn't wait for him to be deep inside of her. Her belly quivered, she craved the feel of him inside of her. She rolled her hips back against him, rubbing herself against his throbbing erection.

Klaus growled against her neck at her teasing. Not being able to wait another second, he took his length in his hand guided it between her legs towards her entrance.

"Klaus…" Caroline gasped, as she felt the swollen, slick head of his cock probing her flesh. She bit her lip when he found her opening. Klaus held her hips and she swallowed a moan when he pushed into her. As soon as he was completely sheathed inside of her, he stopped and she knew he was letting let her get used to the feeling of him. She felt impossibly full, as if he had never been this deep before, but she needed more. She flexed her thighs, sliding up and down on him to signal that she wanted him to move.

He bit back a moan, as he felt her beginning to move on him. She felt tight around him, her inner walls contracting every time she moved. His hands gripped her hips to stop her, taking control as he pulled out of her until only his tip was still inside her. She whimpered at the loss of him, but the whimper turned into a loud moan when he thrust back in. Again, Klaus moved slowly out of her, until just the tip was inside, and then back in fully. He repeated the action a few more times, making Caroline moan.

Her thighs trembled, while her body jerked as he rammed into her, the swollen head of his cock pushing and hitting her deep inside. His hips started moving, pumping into her at a demanding, hungry pace. One of his hands left her hip to stroke up her side, before cupping her breast to knead the full mound. She closed her eyes and let sensations engulf her.

Klaus watched her eyes drift shut, and mouth open slightly as a moan escaped her when the friction inside of her was too much, or the head of his cock pushed on a sensitive spot. He gripped her hip harder, moving faster into her, the feel of her around him pushing him further, wanting to go deeper into her. Her face twisted more and more in pleasure as he felt her starting to flutter around him.

She felt him grip her hips tighter as his thrusts became faster and more erratic. Her walls clamped down around his cock, as her orgasm rolled over her. He held her tight when he kept moving against her for his own impending release.

He relished the feel of her muscles flexing tightly around his cock. His orgasm coursed through his body as he continued to pump into her. Klaus finished with a groan, his face buried in her neck.

Caroline felt warm puffs of air on her neck as he tried to catch his breath, just as she was doing. She brought one of her hands down to reach behind her torun her fingers through his wet hair. "I hope you are still planning on taking me out to lunch after that, I need all the sustenance I can get if you plan on me being conscious today."

Klaus chuckled against her neck at her words. "I wouldn't dream of leaving you hungry for anything you desire."

She smiled at his response before turning and giving him a soft kiss. "We should get out of here."

"Hmmm…" He agreed though he made no effort to actually move, instead placing his fingers under her chin to pull her back into another kiss. It was slow and tender, nothing like the kisses they had shared just moments before. When she felt a shiver run over her that had nothing to do with desire, she broke away from him. "Okay, we really need to get out of here now before we freeze."

This time he nodded as he disentangled himself from her. She turned off the water as Klaus reached over to retrieve her towel. He shook it out before wrapping it around her, rubbing his hands over the terrycloth to warm her up before grabbing the extra towel on the rack.

As the two of them dried off, Caroline couldn't get over how intimate the situation felt, almost as intimate as the sex that just taken place. It didn't feel weird at all, quite the opposite she felt comfortable with it and that was something new to her. Sure, in the past, she had shared a bathroom with her boyfriend but this felt different.

After Klaus left the room with a towel wrapped around his waist, she quickly threw her hair up in a ponytail, and put on some make up. She had left her clothes out on her bed, which meant she would have to dress out there. A devilish smile appeared on her face when she was struck with an idea to get back at Klaus for surprising her in the shower, even if it was unbelievably orgasmic.

Klaus had just finished buttoning the last button on his shirt when Caroline came out of the bathroom, wearing absolutely nothing. She walked by him confidently, winking a little before reaching her bed where her clothes lay. Despite the fact that he had just had her, he could feel the stirrings of desire for her again. Not that they were ever truly quenched. "You're playing with fire, love."

"Am I?" She asked coyly as she slipped on her undergarments.

The small pieces of material hardly did anything to cover her, therefore doing nothing to quench his libido. "Yes, you are."

"You're insatiable." She retorted.

"For you? Absolutely." Klaus replied as he moved towards her flirtatiously. "After months of wanting you, do you really think I wouldn't be? It's like giving a man dying of thirst one drop of water and expecting him to be sated."

"Then it's a good thing that you already said you wouldn't dream of keeping me away from, what was it you said? Anything I desire?" Caroline asked. When he nodded, his eyes dark as he looked at her, she smiled. "Well right now I desire food so no funny business."

"Oh believe me, if I got my hands on you right now, you would be doing anything but laughing."

Now it was Caroline's turn to feel a rush of lust shoot through her body. If her phone hadn't chosen that moment to go off, they might have not have made it to lunch. When she saw the name that popped up on her caller id, she couldn't but blush. This was not a call that she should be taking when she was half naked after having hot shower sex with Klaus but she knew she should still answer it. She slid her thumb over the screen before bringing the phone to her ear. "Hi Dad."

"Hi sweetheart, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Her dad asked.

"No, you're not interrupting anything." Caroline replied, looking over at Klaus. He was doing his best to give her an innocent look as if he hadn't just been pursuing her across her bedroom and she rolled her eyes. "I was just about to grab some lunch. What's up?"

"I got some news at work today, they want to send me on a trip to Boston next week so what do you say about a visit from your old dad?"

"That sounds wonderful." Caroline exclaimed. She hadn't seen her dad since Christmas so any time she would get to spend with him was wonderful. She looked over at Klaus only to see him holding up one of her nightgowns; a very small, very sheer one that she didn't wear for sleeping. He looked at her with a smirk on his face, his eyebrow raised in silent question. Her eyes widen in surprise before she reached over to snatch it away from him. She tried to keep her voice even as she continued talking to her dad. "Um, is Stephen coming too?"

"Do you think I could come up there to see you and he not come?" Bill asked. "Or that you would let me get away with not bringing him?"

Caroline smiled at her dad's playfulness, it was an old joke between the three of them, her dad always liked to pretend that he was worried that she loved Stephen more than him. "Not a chance."

Klaus watched her as she talked to her father. Her face was glowing with a smile. It was different than the one she gave him or even her friends. Now that he thought about it, he was positive he had only ever really seen her give the twins. Before he had a chance to think more on it, Caroline ended her call.

After hanging up with her dad, Caroline looked over to see Klaus studying her. "What?"

"Nothing." He replied before nodding towards the nightgown that was still in her hand. He had spotted it peeking out of one of her drawers a moment ago and couldn't resist investigating what it was. "Why haven't I seen you in that before?"

Caroline shook her head at him, slightly amused at his teasing. "Considering I normally don't parade around in front of my employer and his children wearing something that revealing? That nightgown hides absolutely nothing."

"All the more reason I would love to see you in it." Klaus stated. "Perhaps we can arrange a private viewing?"

"Maybe." Caroline answered coquettishly. Truth be told, she liked the idea of modeling lingerie in front of him, maybe she needed to go shopping.

Despite the fact that he would like the private viewing right now, Klaus held back as she finished dressing. "So I can assume from what I overheard that your father is planning a trip to visit?"

"Yeah, he's got a business thing so he and Stephen are coming for a couple of days next week. This means I'll be spending a few of my evenings with the other men in my life." She answered with a smile as she finished putting on her shoes.

"Feel free to bring them here one evening."

"Are you sure?" Caroline asked.

"Of course, I'm sure your father and Stephen would fancy seeing where you are living and working." Klaus acknowledged asserted. He could see the uneasiness in her eyes and had a feeling he knew what it stemmed from. "Caroline, really there is no need to be worried about it, you would want to bring them by even if we were not together, true?"

"Yes."

"Then you should have no issues bringing them here." He declared. "Okay?"

Caroline looked into his eyes and could see he was being honest with her. He didn't mind her dad and his partner coming over there, and possibly meeting them. She hadn't been sure what he might think about that, considering they had been together such a short time. In most situations it was too early for that, but their situation as always was different. "Okay."

He nodded at her answer before reaching for her hand. "Now that that's settled, let's go so I can take you out on a proper lunch date."

Her face split into a large smile as he escorted her out of her bedroom and out to lunch.

**So that was the promised Shower smut that I talked about on Tumblr. I hope I didn't build it up too much. Let me know what you think.**

**And a big thank you to idiot-wind for her help with the showerhead idea, we were talking about it awhile back and I just now managed to slip it in.**

**Bill and Stephen are coming to see their little girl! After seeing so much Mikaelson family scenes, I thought you guys might like seeing some Forbes ones. **


	37. Part 36 Open Mouth, Insert Foot

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello Lovelies! How are we today? Are you surprised that I'm updating this soon? Well I had this part done so I figured I wouldn't make you wait.**

**I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the smut in the last part, it was fun to write. **

**Thanks to a-little-blonde-distraction, klarolineepiclove, and cecevolume for their wonderful betaing skills! **

Part 36

As Klaus walked back into the living room, he couldn't help but smirk a little at the sight in front of him. Caroline was seated in the middle of one of the couches, with her laptop, surrounded by enough paper that it probably amounted to a small tree at some point. She had been working all night; well to be accurate she'd been working them since they had first decided to go, on plans for their upcoming trip with the twins 'helping' when she asked for it.

"For future reference, we should probably show Henry and Lexi anything to do with the trip after dinner instead of before bedtime."

Caroline didn't look up but a smile did appear on her face. "I'm guessing they were a little excitable?"

"That would be an understatement." He declared.

"Okay, maybe giving them the sharpies and the maps was a little bit too much before they were supposed to go down for the night, but I wanted them to feel like they were helping with the planning." Caroline explained. Ever since they had announced to the twins about the trip, they had been constantly talking about things they wanted to see and do though there was really only a handful of things that they actually knew about.

Therefore, Caroline went online, printed out maps and let the kids go to town on them. However, it ended up becoming much more than busy work for them. "We would have gotten done with it earlier but every time they saw something on the map that they might like they wanted to know more about it so then we looked it up on the computer."

"I think Henry listed every single animal he wanted to see while Lexi went on about meeting fairies and princesses, something about how she thought that she couldn't wait to see Rapunzel's hair but that she was sure that Cinderella was going to be the prettiest."

Caroline laughed when she saw the look on his face after repeating his daughter's words. She knew that Klaus would do anything for his children but she had a feeling that standing in line with a bunch of young girls to meet princesses might be his limit. "Don't worry, I'll take her for the princess and fairy meets. You and Henry can amuse yourself some other way."

Klaus could see the spark of excitement behind her eyes at her statement. "You say that as if you are doing me a favor but I believe you are as excited at that idea as she will be."

"Maybe," She answered truthfully. "I might be a grown woman but I still remember wanting to be a princess when I was little. I always wanted to go when I was a kid but my parents could never take me. I considered once just me and my girlfriends going down but we just never went."

"Well now you have the opportunity." He stated. "And if how much work you've been putting in is any indication, it looks like we are going to have a spectacular time."

"I hope so." Caroline replied, as she began to chew on her lip nervously. "There is just so much to plan. There are the parks, which have a bazillion rides, shows, and experiences to do. I want to make sure that the kids don't miss anything that they want to do or miss out on the must dos. And then, there are the water parks, shopping areas, restaurants reservations, magical experiences and that's after I narrow down the flights and find a hotel from among the dozens of hotels that they have. I think we could literally stay there a month and still miss something."

"Sweetheart, we don't have to do everything that is offered. It's not expected." Klaus said as he moved a few things so he could sit next her. "All of the activities are there so that the visitors and their families feel like they miss something and are lured back."

"I know but this trip to Disney is a big thing for the twins." Caroline argued. "They are so excited."

"I understand but that doesn't mean you have to plan every second of our stay." He replied, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"I want it to be perfect for them." She whispered. "It's not just because it's their first trip, but it's also because of what we are planning to tell them."

"Caroline…" Klaus said in understanding. "Everything will be fine. You're putting unnecessary pressure on yourself and if things don't go according to plan when we go down there, I don't want the stress to keep you from enjoying the trip."

Caroline opened her mouth to argue but realized that he had a point. She smiled feeling a little self-conscious. "Okay, I admit sometimes I do go a bit overboard. I mean, I'm normally an obsessively structured person, it's one of the reasons I'm so good at my job and organizing stuff at the gym; this trip makes me seem like a neurotic control freak on crack."

He couldn't help but laugh a little at her statement. "I would not go that far, love, but I think we just need to dial things back a bit. I can take over if you prefer?"

"No." Caroline snapped hurriedly. "I mean, you don't have to do that. I'll just focus on getting us there, finding a place to sleep, and a couple of things to do that we have to set up ahead of time. Then just wing the rest. I've got most of that decided on anyways."

"Then how about you put it away for tonight?" Klaus asked. "So that I may have the pleasure of your undivided attention. After all your father and Stephen will be here in a couple of days and your attention will be on them"

"I want to show you something first." She replied glancing over at him. He had a slight pout on his lips at the idea of being put off, something he wasn't used to. Over the last couple of weeks, after the twins went to bed, the two of them would spend the rest of the evening together. It's what they called their 'dates'. They would sit together in the formal dining room, having dessert or even a late dinner if he worked late, or sometimes they'd watch a movie together. Most of the time they would just spend the time talking, about anything and everything. "Because if you like it, I'm going to book it, and then I'm all yours."

"Have at it love." He said, motioning to her laptop. She beamed at him before moving so she could lean back into him, snuggling into him while enabling him to see the screen as well.

"Okay, since you said you wanted us to get a suite instead of two rooms, I had to go with one of the bigger hotels. I couldn't get one near Magic Kingdom because of it being last minute, but I found one at Epcot, the Disney Beach Club. It has everything; a two bedroom suite with an additional sofa bed…."

"That we aren't going to need after the first night once we tell them about us." Klaus interrupted. "The twins are aware that people who are in a relationship sleep in the same bed at times, after all they traveled often with Stefan and Rebekah before they were married."

"Are you sure that won't be uncomfortable?" Caroline asked.

"We will of course determine it for sure when it happens but it's not as if they believe that we will be doing anything in the bed aside from sleeping." He explained.

She nodded in understanding though she still wasn't completely sure of it. "Anyways, the hotel is beautiful and has everything. They have transportation from the airport, and around the resort. There's also a playground, a couple of kick ass pools including a wave pool and beach! They have bonfires and pirate cruises."

"Pirate cruises?"

"Yep, and guess what?" Caroline asked, a teasing sound in her voice before she leaned towards his lips, planting a soft kiss on them before answering her own question. "No parents allowed."

"Really?" Klaus replied.

Caroline nodded flirtatiously. "Hmmnn. It's called the Sand Castle Club. It's a full evening of supervised kids' activities."

"That sounds like something we should definitely tell the twins about." He stated, as he closed the distance between them and caught her lower lip between his.

She returned his kiss for a moment before pulling away enough to finish what she was saying. "Henry is actually the one that found it and after he showed it to Lexi, they started begging to be able to do it. So I thought since they were insisting so eagerly, you wouldn't have a problem with spending one night away from them."

"I suppose we could indulge them one night. But whatever will we do with ourselves?" Klaus asked, his voice and question sounding innocent when she could see his eyes meant anything but.

"Oh, I'm sure we will find something." She replied thoughtfully. "I was actually thinking that maybe I could arrange dinner or something before we engage in our favorite indoor activity."

"Sounds like an excellent plan to be." He praised.

Caroline's face lit up with a smile. "Great. I'll get it booked right now!"

Before he could blink, Klaus found her lips gone and instead his eyes were now focused on the back of her head as she turned back to her computer. He watched as Caroline quickly put in all of the information that the website needed, as well as the one that had all of their flight information. "Just charge everything to the credit card you have of mine, if you haven't already."

"That's what I was planning to do with the tickets for the three of you, both flight and park…"

"The three of us?" Klaus repeated confused. Why was she talking as if she was only booking things for he and the twins? This was a trip for the four of them after all.

"Yes, I'll just put mine on my card and I'll give you the money for my part of the hotel since it will be booked under one reservation." She explained.

"Why would you do that?" He asked. "When I'm the one who will be paying for everything?"

"Um, because you're not?" Caroline replied. "This is my vacation too; I don't expect you to shell out my part too."

"But there is no need. I am more than happy to pay for the trip, for all of us." Klaus insisted. "I told you that before."

"Fine, but this isn't Barbados. Then it was okay, but now it wouldn't be right."

"How is it different?" Klaus inquired. "I mean you are accompanying us on vacation as a guest."

"Maybe but I'm going as your girlfriend, not your employee." Caroline declared as she was starting to go from bemused to annoyed and a bit angry. "There's a big difference."

"Yes, there is. I'm not saying that the circumstances that you are going aren't different, because they are vastly but that doesn't mean that I can't be the one to pay for the trip still. The money isn't a problem." He explained.

"But I don't need you to pay for me." Caroline insisted.

"I'm not saying that you do, but did you think that maybe I want to?" Klaus asked. "Men do enjoy buying gifts for the women in their lives."

"This is a little more than a gift Klaus. A gift is perfume, flowers or I don't know a book you see and think I'll like not a freaking all expense paid trip!" She exclaimed. "Especially when I have plenty of money to pay my own way."

"Which means either way, I'm funding the trip so why shouldn't I just pay directly for it?"

Caroline stared at him, her mouth falling open in shock at his words. The small ember of anger that had been building inside her as they started arguing now roared to an inferno. "You did not just say that."

There was no missing the sudden rage in her eyes at what he had said. He hadn't meant it the way that it had sounded; it had just come out. "Sweetheart…."

"Don't…just don't." She snapped. She scooted away from him on the couch and started to gather up the stuff lying around, slamming them into a pile a little harder than what was probably necessary but she didn't care. She was upset and if she didn't take her anger out on inanimate objects, she might explode. "This isn't up for discussion."

Klaus saw her retreat from him and followed her across the couch. "Caroline…calm down."

When she felt his fingers reach out for her, Caroline snatched her arm away. "No, you don't get to tell me to calm down."

"I didn't mean that to sound like it did." Klaus declared.

"Then what did you mean for it to sound like? Because I know what I heard." She shouted as she stood up. "And you know what? My salary might have come from your pocket but I earned it by doing my job."

"I never said you didn't." He argued. "Don't put words in my mouth simply to stroke your fury."

"I don't have to because you're good at doing that on your own." She fired back.

"Bloody hell Caroline!" Klaus exclaimed. "I'm trying to make things right but you're being so stubborn and refuse to listen. You're acting like one of the twins in a tantrum."

As the allegation tumbled from his lips, Caroline brought her hands up to in front of her face, her fingers pressed together. She took a deep breath before picking up her laptop and heading out of the room. "I can't be here right now, I can't talk to you."

Klaus moved to follow her but stopped. If he followed her, their argument would continue and more than likely escalate to the point that the twins would hear them. That wasn't something he wanted, yet he also didn't want things to stay as they were with Caroline. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, feeling out of control of the situation and he hated that feeling.

/

A couple of hours later, Caroline made her way back down the stairs. Her fury at him had tempered some but she was still upset. However, she knew she couldn't stay hidden away in her room, avoiding him. Well she could but she knew that wasn't the right way to go about things. True, she had run away from the argument to begin with, which wasn't like her. Normally it was the other person who left, she preferred to the direct approach when dealing with arguments.

She looked for him where she'd left him, but he wasn't in the living room. She wasn't surprised; she thought he might have retreated to his studio so she headed back up the stairs. When she reached the door to his studio, she found it slightly ajar. She hesitated for a minute, wondering if that was a sign that he didn't want company but she ended up knocking anyways. If he didn't want to talk to her, then he should have shut the door completely though it probably wouldn't have stopped her either.

"Come in Caroline." He called out to her.

"I wasn't sure if you would answer my knock considering the way I stormed off." She said as she entered. He was standing in front of one of the tables, most likely having been working on something but was turned towards her now.

"In view of the fact that you knocked and didn't stomp in here yelling at me, I figured that I was safe." Klaus replied. "Besides, I find I don't like arguing with you."

Caroline smiled a little at him as he made his way towards her. His gait was as assertive as ever while his eyes met hers without hesitation, both of which surprised her. In the past, whenever one of her exes and her had argued, they always acted sheepish when approaching her regardless of who had started the argument. She knew it was always their way of getting on her good side, Klaus however didn't seem to feel the need to indulge her. Something she found refreshing. "Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of it either."

"I wanted to follow you earlier, but I thought it might not be the best of ideas."

"Probably not a bad one." She said with a shrug. "I don't ordinarily run away from arguments, but I needed to get away from you. Otherwise things probably would have gotten very ugly. I have a bit of a temper."

"I've noticed that is something we have in common." Klaus commented.

"Sweetheart, what I said…"

"It stung." She interrupted.

"I'm sure it did."

"It brought up some insecurities I've been feeling." Caroline confessed.

"About us?" Klaus asked.

"No, not about us." She assured him. "More what people think about us."

"Who cares what people think about us?"

"I do. I mean, I want to say that it won't bother me. That I know and you know that I'm not with you because of your money but when we start letting people know about us, money is going to be one of the reasons they think I'm with you whether it's because you have some or because I'm working for you.

"I don't like the idea of people thinking that I'm some gold digger. Or worse."

"Worse?"

"I'm on your payroll and I'm sleeping with you; that's pretty much most people's definition of a whore." Caroline declared.

"Caroline, you are not a whore and anyone who is idiotic enough to think that is worth worrying about." Klaus growled.

She could hear the anger in his voice, anger not directed at her but at those who might speak ill of her and she couldn't help but feel a little pleased at his reaction but she pushed it to the side to focus on why she had come to talk to him.

"Maybe but I will still be aware that some will think that. I've accepted that it's going to happen but when you talked about paying my way, it just kind of hit that sensitive spot in me and I snapped. I felt like some kind of 'kept' woman or something."

"I didn't intend for you to feel like that." Klaus explained.

"I know that now and I knew it then, I just let my insecurities get in the way." She admitted.

"This is something we are going to have to deal with Caroline, because I'm going to be buying you gifts or paying for things from time to time. I enjoy spoiling those I care about and I think you deserve everything the world has to offer." He stated. "So I'm not going to stop trying to give it to you."

Again, Caroline was torn in her feelings towards what he said, a part of her still felt uneasy at the idea of him spending money on her while the other side of her loved the fact that he thought she was worth spoiling. "There needs to be limits Klaus."

"Such as the sky?" He teased causing her to bring her hands up to whack him but he grabbed her hands before they could land on his chest. He brought them up to his face before brushing his lips across her knuckles. "Am I forgiven?"

"Only if I am." Caroline replied knowing he was no longer talking about giving her gifts but what was said during their argument.

Klaus nodded in response before he used his hold on her hands to pull her closer. As he did, Caroline took advantage of his proximity to kiss him. It was tentative and gentle, as if she was searching to see if things really were resolved between them. He pressed his lips firmly against hers to answer her question.

After a few minutes of kissing him, Caroline broke the kiss, and leaned her forehead against his. She needed more, not necessarily sex but more of him. "Stay with me tonight…"

He looked into her eyes, as if to confirm what her words were saying. They had gotten into the routine of retiring to his room whenever they wanted to be intimate, due to the fact that it was farther away from the twins' rooms. Caroline's room was just too close if things got…loud. "I'm not sure that is the best idea considering the twins."

"I don't mean sleep with me, just sleep next to me." Caroline explained. "We can set the alarm to make sure that we are awake before they wake up, I just want to feel you next to me."

"Well then, how could I possibly say no?" Klaus answered.

Once the lights were all turned off and the house was secure for the night, Caroline led Klaus to her bedroom. She shut the door securely behind them before moving to get her pajamas. "I'll be right back."

She slipped into her bathroom to change and pull her hair back in a ponytail before making her way back out. She found him already in her bed, she could see the pile of his clothes at the foot of her bed and knew that he was down to only his boxers if he wore anything at all. He had pulled back the covers pulled back to invite her to join him. The sight of him in her bed made her heart beat a little faster, not in just desire though she felt that too but due to the intimacy of the idea of just sleeping next to him.

Klaus watched her make her way towards him, dressed in skimpy night clothes that did nothing to hide her body from his gaze, before he held his hand out to her. She took it readily before climbing in alongside him. They settled into a comfortable position, he on his back, her curled against his chest. Neither of them spoke, just simply enjoyed being close to the other one.

Just before she felt herself giving into sleep, she felt his lips brush her forehead lightly before whispering. "Good night love."

**Well they got past their first argument. What did you think?**

**Next part will be Bill and Stephen's visit. **


	38. Part 37 Daddy's Girl

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it has taken me so long to update. While I have envisioned Bill and Stephen visiting from the beginning, I was kind of blocked when it came to writing it.**

**Thanks to klarolineepiclove and a-little-blonde-distraction for their help with this part and CeceVolume for her betaing skills. **

**Also, here are some responses:**

**ilovetvd: you mentioned how you thought it was odd that I implied that Klaroline didn't have sex after the kids go to bed. You are correct, I had something in there but it didn't get included but it is now. **

**Also to the Guest who didn't understand that title to the last part, it's a saying I've heard throughout my life that is said when someone says something they shouldn't, they stick their foot in their mouths. I have no idea where it comes from, but there you go.**

Part 37 Daddy's Girl

Klaus watched as Caroline checked her phone for the tenth time in less than five minutes. Once she saw that her phone did not have the answers she was wanting, she chewed on her lip nervously as her eyes went to the front door. "Do you think they might have gotten lost?"

"It's possible, but you gave them very specific directions. I'm sure they are just stuck in traffic." He declared from his spot on the couch next to her.

"Maybe I should call and find out." She suggested her fingers busy on the touchpad of her phone until Klaus brought his hand up to stop her.

"Love, I'm sure if something was wrong they would have called." Klaus assured her.

Caroline nodded at his statement though she didn't look entirely convinced. She looked at her phone again before standing up. "Well I'm going to do a quick walk through then, make sure that everything is in order."

Klaus reached up and caught her hand before she disappeared out of the room to try and clean a non-existing mess. "Caroline, nothing has been moved, everything is just as perfect as it was when you left it. The twins are downstairs busy in the playroom so why don't you just sit here with me for a moment?"

"I can't, I can't sit still. I'm too nervous." She began to pace back and forth in front of the archway between the foyer and living room anxiously. She should really go into the kitchen and make sure that there weren't any crumbs left over from the twins' snack earlier.

"Why? It's just your father and Stephen right?" Klaus asked already knowing the answer. According to what she had told him, they were coming by the house for the dual purpose of seeing where Caroline lived and worked and picking her up for dinner.

Because of those plans, she had been like this for the past two days; running around the house making sure that everything was showroom perfect. It had started when she requested that the cleaning staff come a couple of days early to make sure that everything was tidy for her guests. She had thanked them profusely but as soon as they left, she moved around the house with a dust rag to make sure that everything was sparkling.

Caroline stopped mid stride when he walked in front of her and pulled her into his arms. Even though her body was still strumming with nervous energy, she felt herself calm a bit at his touch. She was grateful that the twins were occupied so they could steal this moment. She brought her hands up to his shoulders, one of them toying with the necklaces there as she took a deep breath. "Yes, it's just them but that's why I'm so nervous."

"I don't understand." He confessed.

"As you know, I'm a bit of a perfectionist." She declared.

"Really? I had no idea." Klaus joked, earning him a slap on his chest.

"As I was saying…" Caroline went on, glaring at him a bit. "I get that particular character trait from my father though I'm way worse than he is, and I don't want to disappoint him."

"Which I doubt you could ever do." He stated.

"I just want everything to be perfect when he gets here. I mean I know I'm an adult, so it might seem silly to want my dad's approval on things in my life, but I do." She said with a sigh. "They know that I'm in charge of the house as well as the kids so I want it to make a good first impression. I might not be telling him about everything going on my life, like my relationship with you, but a part of me thinks if he gets a good feel for things now, when I do tell him, he'll be very accepting of it."

Klaus looked down into her beautiful blue eyes and saw a mixture of hopefulness and trepidation. He knew that her father's, as well as Stephen's, opinions were very important to her even before her nervous display; especially it seemed in regards to him. The desire to obtain parental approval of their relationship was something new to him, having never had to experience it in the past but he would make sure to do his best to get it for her.

"Your father will be proud of your life here Caroline, how could he not when you pour your heart into everything you do?"

Caroline couldn't help but smile at his words before she leaned forward and kissed him quickly on his lips. "Well if you keep up that charm of yours, I don't doubt that they will both love you."

"Is it my charm that caught your attention?" Klaus asked as one eyebrow rose in question.

Caroline opened her mouth to answer when the doorbell sounded. He smirked instead. "Saved by the bell it seems."

"Well maybe you and your ego will get my answer later." She said with a wink before rushing out of the room.

Klaus watched her go to greet her guests, while he stayed behind in the living room. He knew she wanted to do introductions but he wanted to give her a few moments alone with them, not to mention that it would look a bit odd if he accompanied her to the door. After all, her father believed them to only be boss and employee, and nothing more.

As soon as her hand touched the doorknob, Caroline yanked it open and smiled widely. The two men she was expecting were on the other side and launched herself forward. "Dad! Stephen!"

Her father caught her in a hug and squeezed back. "Hello, sweetheart."

"I'm so happy to see you guys," She greeted. "I can't believe you're here."

"You act like you haven't seen us in a couple of years instead of a couple of months." Bill stated.

"Don't pay any attention to him, Care. He's just as excited as you are. He's just trying to act all proper and mature whereas in the car he was acting quite the opposite." Stephen said piping in. "Now stop hogging her Bill and let her come here and give me a hug."

Caroline laughed as she released her father after a final squeeze and embraced Stephen. "I was getting worried that you guys got lost or something."

"We would have been here sooner but someone insisted on changing before we left, making us late when he caused us to run late when he couldn't find something in the chaos of his suitcase." Bill explained which Stephen just shrugged off with a roll of his big brown eyes.

"Well you're here now and that's what is important. Now come in come in." Caroline invited as she stepped back into the house and motioned for them to follow her. Once they were through the door and in the foyer, she shut the door. "Well here we are, this is where I live and work."

"It's lovely Caroline, even better in person than the pictures you showed us." Bill admired as the two of them looked around the foyer and the little glimpses of the other rooms visible.

"I think so. I'll give you a tour here in a minute but first, I want to introduce you first to someone." Caroline said as she led them to the living room where Klaus was still standing, waiting for them. "This is Niklaus Mikaelson. Klaus this is my Dad, Bill Forbes and his partner Stephen."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Caroline has spoken quite often of both of you." Klaus greeted as he extended his hand to Bill first. He could tell by the look in Bill's eyes that he was sizing him up, judging the man that his only daughter was currently living with and worked for. He couldn't blame him, without a doubt he would be doing the exact same thing in his position if it were Lexi.

"The pleasure is ours." Bill replied as he took his hand and shook it firmly. "Thank you for allowing us to visit your home."

"Yes, we were just commenting on how beautiful everything is, the pictures we've seen don't do it justice." Stephen piped in, as he moved to shake Klaus hand as well. Stephen's gaze was different than Bill's had been. Still appraising but there was also a look of awe in them, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. When their hands parted, Stephen moved back to stand by Caroline but not before adding under his breath. "And not just the ones of the house."

Klaus wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear the last part, especially when he noticed Caroline elbowing Stephen slightly as she rolled her eyes. He would have to ask her about it later. "Thank you though I can't take all of the credit. I might have had a hand in decorating it but Caroline is the one that makes sure that it doesn't fall into chaos and filth."

"Oh, please you give me too much credit. The three of you aren't that messy, the twins are good about picking up their own stuff." Caroline commented offhandedly as she looked over at him. She knew he was just trying to compliment her in front of her guests but she didn't want him to go overboard.

"Are you trying to say that I am the responsible party when it comes to the clutter then?" Klaus asked her, a smirk on his face.

"Of course not, I just don't want you making Bill and Stephen think that I work my fingers to the bone cleaning up after you guys." She responded teasingly, a smile lighting up her face as she looked at him. The smirk on his face only widened and she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was about to respond with something just as flirtatious when suddenly Stephen's voice reminded her that they weren't alone.

"Well that sounds like our Care. She could run a small country with her phone and a spreadsheet."

Her eyes snapped away from Klaus' face and to her dad and Stephen. Caroline watched as her dad's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at them and she knew that he was trying to get a read on the two of them. She never could hide very much from her father. She tried to keep her blush under control as she cleared her throat. "Really most days all I do is make sure that the kids don't kill each other while Klaus is at work or whenever he needs me."

She cringed at her choice of words; she probably shouldn't have made it sound like she was at his beck and call. She tried to think of something to say to fix it, but thankfully, Klaus came to the rescue.

"Can I offer either of you gentleman something to drink?" He asked. "Water? Coffee? Something stronger perhaps? I have a small variety of spirits in my liquor cabinet."

"I'm sure that Bill would enjoy a finger of scotch, while I could go for some tea." Stephen accepted before he looked over at Caroline. "Maybe you can show that charming kitchen you've told me so much about while these two handsome men enjoy a drink?"

"Um, sure I guess." Caroline hesitated, unsure if it was the best idea to leave the two of them alone. "Unless you would like to see it, Dad?"

"I'll be fine here Sweetheart, a scotch before dinner sounds good. Not to mention you and Stephen are the cooks here, not me." Bill answered. "I'm sure that Klaus and I can find something to talk about while the two of you are busy."

Caroline watched as Klaus moved over to the liquor cabinet to retrieve their drinks, nodding to her as he did, letting her know it was okay if she left him with her father. With his assurance, she reached over and grabbed Stephen's hand. "Well you too enjoy your drink, we won't be long."

Klaus poured their drinks as Caroline led Stephen out of the living room and towards the kitchen. Once they were out of the room, he walked over and handed Bill one of the tumblers. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you." Bill replied as he took the proffered drink before sitting down. "Caroline seems to be quite comfortable here."

"I hope so. Since she first moved in, I have made sure that she understands that this is her home and not just her place of business." Klaus stated.

"Yes, Caroline has mentioned to me how generous you are," Bill commented. "She said that you like to reward your employees."

"Not necessarily reward, I simply like to take care of my people. I make sure to only employ those who are highly skilled and knowledgeable. They tend to work best when they are well taken care of and know they are valued." Klaus explained.

"I see." Bill commented as he took a sip of drink. "My daughter has always made sure to do her best."

"Caroline is very good at her job, I am very lucky to have her." Klaus was about to say more when Lexi and Henry suddenly came rushing in.

"Dad, is Caroline's dad here…yet?" Henry asked before he caught sight the stranger sitting with their father. "I guess so."

Klaus motioned for his children to come closer. "Mr. Forbes I'd like you to meet my children, Alexandria and Henrik."

"Hi." Lexi said politely as her brother waved.

"Hello, there." Bill replied with a smile at the two children in front of him. "Caroline talks about the two of you all of the time, I feel like we already been introduced."

"Really?" Henry asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"She talks about how much she likes taking care of the two of you, that she loves being here."

"We love her being here too, she's great." Henry declared.

"Yeah, she's one of our favorite people." Lexi agreed.

"I'm glad to hear that." Bill stated.

"What else did she tell you?" Henry asked. "Like exactly?"

Bill chuckled at the little boy's question. He sounded as if he wasn't sure if Caroline had been telling him the good or the bad. "Just little things, she talks about helping you guys with your school work, Lexi's gymnastics or your reading. She says you really like to read."

"I do." Henry nodded. "I get in trouble sometimes for reading too much."

"I heard that, Caroline said that your teachers have to tell you to put it away and pay attention." Bill commented. "I used to get notes home like that about Caroline except that it was because she was talking too much."

"That happens to me," Lexi piped in. "Dad says I wouldn't get in trouble if I would wait to talk to my friends at recess but sometimes that's just too long to wait. I get it from my Aunt Bekah and Uncle Kol, he says they never know when to be quiet."

"Lexi," Klaus said. "You're going to give Mr. Forbes a bad impression of them."

"I'm only telling him what you said." She replied.

"What else did Caroline get in trouble for when she was our age?" Henry asked interrupting his father and sister before they could go on. He really wanted to know more about Caroline.

"She didn't get into much trouble." Bill stated. "She doesn't have any brothers and sisters so if she got into trouble, she couldn't see her friends and learned quickly not to get visits with them taken away."

"Oh." Henry responded, disappointment evident in his voice.

"That doesn't mean she didn't get into funny situations though." Bill assured him. "Caroline is too strong minded for that not to happen. When she sets her mind to it, she gets it and sometimes the results aren't always great."

"Like what?" Lexi asked.

"Well when she was a little younger than you, she was very much in love with unicorns. She had a stuffed one that had a rainbow colored mane and she told her mother and I one day that she wanted her hair to match Buttercup's. We told her no, that her hair couldn't be more than one color and she was too young anyways." Bill explained. "However, Caroline didn't like that answer, so she decided to prove us wrong. She took some markers and colored her hair until the entire front part of her head looked like a rainbow."

Klaus couldn't help but laugh at the image that popped into his head at Bill's story. He was very familiar with Caroline's stubbornness as well as her determination when she set her mind to something. They would have been together sooner if not for it. "I'm sure she was quite proud to prove you wrong."

"Yes, she was." Bill agreed. "She came out of her room, hands full of the markers she'd been using and insisted that since it could be done, we had to help her finish it because she couldn't reach the back. Her mother and I were quite shocked when we saw her."

"Did you make her wash it out?" Lexi giggled.

"We tried, but they were permanent markers so it had to wear out." Bill explained. "Thankfully it was the summer time and it wore out."

"Not completely, I still had a little bit of the purple when I went back to school. You can see it in the pictures." Caroline stated as she and Stephen returned. "Why did you tell them that embarrassing story, Dad?"

"They asked about things you might have done when you were younger. As your father, I'm inclined to share embarrassing stories of about you." Bill replied teasingly causing Caroline to roll her eyes.

"Oh Care, if that's the only story he tells them, feel lucky. I can think of several more embarrassing stories from your teenage years we can share." Stephen mentioned.

"You wouldn't dare." Caroline said, as she turned towards him, glaring.

"Well some of them might be too much for young ears but I'm sure that Klaus would like to hear them." He responded, throwing a smile in the man in question's direction.

Before Klaus could open his mouth to answer, Caroline spoke up. "Well look how late it's getting. I need to show you guys the rest of the house so that we can get to dinner before it's too late."

"Then perhaps Klaus and the twins would care to join us for dinner?" Stephen asked, looking over at Bill to see if he was in agreement. He was very interested in seeing more of Caroline as well as her interactions with Klaus and his children.

"Yes, you are more than welcome to come along." Bill agreed though he wasn't as enthusiastic about it as Stephen. He wanted to spend time with just his daughter, they had lots of things to catch up on.

"We thank you for the offer, but we already have dinner waiting for us in the kitchen and early bedtimes with school tomorrow." Klaus interjected. "Not to mention that we get Caroline to ourselves all of the time, I would hate to deprive you her sole focus."

Caroline smiled her thanks to him, Klaus was very aware of how much she had been looking to this visit and though she would enjoy the additional company, she really was looking forward to it just being the three of them.

Bill and Stephen both nodded in acknowledgement before allowing for Caroline to lead them out of the living room and throughout the house. After a quick tour, the three of them were out the door leaving Klaus and the twins behind. "Okay you two, go get cleaned up so that the table can get set."

As the twins scampered off to do as their father instructed, Klaus worked on getting the food together though his mind was on Caroline. The meeting had gone well, he just hoped that her father thought so as well.

**Sorry for the part being so short guys. I originally planned for Bill and Stephen's visit to only take one part but I figured I'd break it in half so I could update faster. Next part will be a dinner between Caroline, Bill, and Stephen.**

**FYI, Stephen and his reaction to Klaus is based on one of my coworkers and his reaction when I showed him a picture of Joseph Morgan. **

**Also, my niece actually did color her hair with sharpies, and no it doesn't come out when you wash it.**


	39. Part 38 What a Father Sees

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello lovelies, here is your update. **

**I was glad to see that you guys liked meeting Bill and Stephen, they are fun to write. And you're right, Fathers do tend to pick up on little things that others might not, plus unlike the Mikaelsons, Bill and Stephen haven't spent time around Klaus and Caroline before they were together so their intimacy, which they had before they were together, is completely new. People who have been around them would probably just chalk their behavior up to normal while Bill and Stephen don't. **

**For those of you who didn't see my post on Tumblr, I picture Stephen looking like John Barrowman.**

**For the guest who asked what a Sharpie is, it's a type of permanent marker.**

**Thanks so much to klarolineepiclove, a-little-blonde-distraction, and approvesomuch for their help and CeceVolume for being my wonderful beta. **

Part 38

"I don't think I could eat another bite if my life depended on it." Caroline exclaimed after swallowing the food in her mouth. To prove her point, she set down her fork and picked up her wineglass, taking a long drink.

The three of them had had a very pleasant evening. She thought that the visit at the house had gone by very well. Her father and Stephen had loved her room, thought it was very fitting for her and she had told them about how it had been redecorated before she had moved in. That fact seemed to impress the two of them especially after she had told them the way it had looked previously. She had noticed the two of them sharing an odd look before leaving, one that looked as if they were having a whole conversation without talking. She wasn't entirely sure what to think of it yet but had not asked about it.

The conversation on the way to the restaurant had focused mostly on their trip to Boston, and what her father's job had him doing while he was here. Sadly, they were only going to be there for two days and Bill was going to be working most of the time during the daylight hours. However, Stephen of course was free and he and Caroline had already made plans while the kids were in school.

"Considering that you just ate your weight in pasta, I'm not surprised." Stephen commented teasingly from his spot across from her. "You've always had a weakness for Italian food, hasn't she, Bill?"

Her father nodded from behind his own wine glass. "That she has, which is why I wouldn't even consider taking her to any other type of restaurant for dinner."

"Maybe if I didn't eat so much pasta, I wouldn't have to run almost every day." Caroline said. She couldn't help but smile. She was a grown up but she liked that her dad indulged her by taking her out for her favorite food. "We have this pasta dish at the house every couple of weeks that is so good that I always go back for seconds even if I promise myself that I won't. Why do carbs tastes so good and yet are so bad for you?"

"That is a mystery for the ages." Stephen replied, the tone in his voice expressing how much in agreement he was over their evaluation of carbs. "Thankfully, your father loves me for more than my girlish figure or I'd have had to give them up completely or risk losing him."

She watched as her father rolled his eyes at Stephen's statement. "You're being a bit overdramatic, don't you think?"

"Maybe." Stephen replied with a roguish smile. "Or maybe I just wanted to hear you say that I'm as handsome as I was when we met."

Bill smiled a little at him before speaking. "Then I'd be lying."

Stephen huffed at him before Bill added. "Because you have only grown more handsome over the years."

"Damn right, I'm aged to perfection." Stephen quipped, his smile growing even more, his eyes lighting up when Bill reached over and squeezed his hand.

Caroline watched the two of them from her spot and like always, it warmed her heart. True, she hadn't taken it well when her father and mother got divorced when she was younger but seeing her dad so happy with Stephen had made up for it. Her mind went to the twins and wondered what they would think when she and Klaus told them about their relationship. She thought they'd be happy about it. She cared so much about them and wanted them to be happy for her and their dad.

Stephen noticed the small grin on Caroline's face as well as the faraway look in her eyes and knew she wasn't with them anymore. He cleared his throat loudly before speaking. "So the dish you mentioned, is it something Klaus makes?"

Caroline shook her head. "No. He knows how to cook but this dish is one that comes from a catering service that specializes in frozen home-cooked meals for busy families."

"Interesting." Bill responded.

"Yeah, it's a service he was using before he hired me. It's for nights when neither of us do the cooking either because of time or whatever." She informed them.

"It sounds as if you have dinner with them quite often."

"Well, yes and no. I mean, some nights I feed the kids when Klaus is working late, and then other nights they ask me to join them." Caroline faltered as she took another sip of her wine before picking up the small menu folder in the center of the table. "So is anyone else going to have dessert?"

"I thought you couldn't eat another bite?" Bill asked.

"Of dinner, I'm talking dessert, completely different matter." Caroline stated as if it was the most logical thing in the world. She glanced over the menu before speaking. "Now I just have to decide what treat to have; gelato, a canoli…"

"Why are you even acting as if you are going to choose anything other than the tiramisu?" Stephen baited.

"Actually I am considering something else." Caroline defended. "Well maybe. I thought I'd save the tiramisu for when we go to Disney, according to several reviews I've read, they have some of the best."

"I didn't realize you were going on another trip." Bill stated.

"I thought I told you." She answered. "For the twins' birthday Klaus decided to give into their demands and take them down to Orlando as their present."

"I remember you mentioning that you were going with them on a trip but I assumed it was another large family trip or business trip." Her father responded. "I'm surprised though, from what I saw earlier he is quite capable of taking care of his children on his own and not needing your help at all hours."

Caroline didn't like what her father was implying, that Klaus wasn't a competent father on his own, that he required her help. "Oh, he's perfectly capable of taking them on his own, they asked me to join them."

"It sounds like a fun trip." Stephen interceded. "I know you have always wanted to go and I'm sure that Lexi will appreciate having another female there, I can imagine Klaus isn't very keen on all of the girly princess and fairy stuff."

She couldn't help but smile. "No, he's not and yes, Lexi is very excited. She wanted to do the princess make over but her dad refuses to let her. He doesn't like the idea of all of the makeup and glitter put on her, he says she's too young even though in this case the salon caters to even younger little girls."

"I can't blame him." Bill acknowledged.

"Are you going to get a makeover Care?" Stephen asked teasingly. "I know you have always wanted to be a princess."

"I'm not the only one here with a bit of a Cinderella fetish." Caroline fired back. "Sadly however I can't. Disney doesn't allow adults to get princess makeovers or let them wear costumes in the park, only little girls. Something about confusing them with the real characters."

"How disappointing."

"Yeah, but I've got lots of other fun stuff planned." She explained. "I've been working on it a lot with the kids. It's going to be loads of fun, I think Klaus is even getting excited and that's saying something."

"I'm sure it is." Bill commented as he stared at his daughter for a moment before continuing. "How long have you been sleeping with him?"

"Daddy!" Caroline gasped in surprise at her father's question.

"Bill!" Stephen scolded. "And you say I'm the one who is the dramatic one here?"

"I'm not being dramatic, it's a simple question." Bill stated.

"Why would you ask something like that?" Caroline asked him.

"I notice you're not denying the subject, only objecting to my question." Her father acknowledged. "But to answer your question, I'm asking because I want to know how long my daughter has been sleeping with her boss."

"Bill…" Stephen said a warning sound in his voice. He knew that Bill was doing what he thought was best but he also knew that if his partner wasn't careful, he was going to severely piss his daughter off. Attacking her was not the best way to get Caroline to open up.

"It's not like that." Caroline declared.

"So you're not sleeping with him?" Bill asked.

Caroline opened her mouth to snap at her father but closed it just as quickly. She had to be smart about this, her dad was just being his normal overprotective self, which she understood even if she didn't like it. "I am..."

Bill's eyes closed at the his daughter's confirmation of what he feared. "Caroline, what on Earth would possess you to do something like this? To get into a physical relationship not just with someone you work with but your boss?."

"Because it's more than just sex, Dad." Caroline retorted. "Do you really think I would be that stupid?"

"No, I don't." He answered and was about to say more when the waitress appeared and asked them if they needed anything else.

"I think we are going to need you to get us another round of drinks." Stephen requested, giving her a large smile. "The sooner the better, I think."

As soon as the waitress left, Caroline spoke again. "How did you know? No one that I know of has figured it out yet."

"The two of you aren't as good at hiding it as you think you are." Bill explained.

Caroline found his answer amusing, considering he had been around them for under an hour and figured them out yet they had been able to keep it from those that saw them all of the time. However now was not the time to laugh, it would not be a good way to have this conversation with her father and Stephen. She took a quick sip from her glass before replying. "I didn't intend for this to happen, neither of us did."

"Are you sure about that?" Her father asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong Klaus seemed like a good guy and father. However, he is a young single father, one who hired a young beautiful woman who is great with kids that can move in and act like a substitute wife in every way…"

"It's not like that, he's not like that." Caroline argued. "If it wasn't, he wouldn't still be with me even after I told him everything about my past and how it affects my future."

Bill's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Everything?"

She nodded. "As Mom would say, 'Full disclosure."

Her response silenced both her father and Stephen, and she took the opportunity to continue. "When I first met him, I thought he was insanely attractive."

"Well who can blame you for that?" Stephen exclaimed causing both of them to frown at him. "What? The man is gorgeous and that accent of his is like liquid sex."

"But…" Caroline continued. "I pushed it aside and we became friends, very good friends. I tried to fight the feelings I developed for him, knowing it was wrong for me to fall for my boss. I wasn't aware that he was doing the same thing until one night when it all came out. Even then, I fought pursuing a relationship with him until I realized I didn't want to anymore. I have feelings, very intense feelings for him and I want to be with him and the twins."

She reached across the table and squeezed her father's hand. "Listen, I know you are just trying to be a protective dad but you have to trust me on this."

Once again, the waitress's timing was impeccable, showing up at that moment to bring them the round of drinks that Stephen had ordered. After she was done, Caroline watched her father for any sign of what he was thinking; unfortunately, he was too good of a poker player to give away anything. She glanced over at Stephen to see what he thought and received a wink in return, which right away made her feel better.

Bill contemplated what his daughter had told him, not just her words but also the emotion in her voice and face. He could see that she did really care about Klaus and his children and knew that she had most likely tortured herself over that fact during the time she had been fighting her feelings. He knew from experience. "I do, I do trust you. I can see in your eyes that you care about him and you wouldn't start things with him if you weren't sure about it."

"As much as I can be." Caroline replied before asking. "So you are okay with it?"

"As long as he makes you happy and doesn't hurt you? Yes." Bill answered. "Besides, I'm the last person to tell you not to love someone other people say you shouldn't."

Caroline' s face exploded in a huge smile as her eyes welled up with tears. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

She reached over and gave him a hug, squeezing him as tightly as she could. If he hadn't been okay with her relationship with Klaus, she wouldn't have ended things but she would have been extremely upset. Now she felt a huge sense of relief knowing he accepted it.

Bill returned his daughter's hug before pulling back and picked up his own drink. "Well now that the cat has been out of the bag, why don't we enjoy these drinks while you tell us more about this family that has captured your heart."

Laughter bubbled out of Caroline before she began doing exactly what her father asked her to do.

/

"Klaus, I know you asked not to be disturbed but there's someone here to see you." He heard Mindy say from behind him. When he turned to tell her that he didn't care who was there to see him, he had given her specific instructions that he be left alone, she added. "He said his name is Bill Forbes."

Mindy's words halted any argument that Klaus could come up with instead, he just nodded. "It's okay, Mindy, please show him in."

"Considering the last name, I'm assuming that he's Caroline's father?" Mindy asked curiously.

"That would be a very accurate assumption." Klaus replied. His assistant only nodded before retreating to retrieve his visitor. He had to admit, he wasn't completely surprised at the visit, not after the other night when Caroline had returned from her dinner and told him that her father and his partner had guessed at the complete truth behind their relationship. However, just because he was expecting it, didn't mean he was prepared for it.

As he waited, Klaus grabbed a rag in an attempt to clean off his hands. He was just contemplating going to the washroom to clean up when Mindy returned with Bill Forbes.

"Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Forbes? Water? Coffee or Soda?" Mindy asked.

"No, I'm good." He replied.

"Then I will make sure the two of you and make sure that you aren't disturbed." She stated before heading out of the room.

"Thank you, Mindy." Klaus stated before she shut the doors. Once she did, he turned back to his guest who was looking around Klaus' area. He felt a brief sense of déjà vu as he remembered Caroline doing something similar on her first trip to the office.

"So this is your office." Bill declared as he looked around the large space. The room looked to actually be two rooms, one that was more for an office with a desk and a table while the other was definitely a studio. "Caroline mentioned about your families' business and how you are head of the art department."

"Yes, art has always been a passion of mine." Klaus replied. "When you do something you are passionate about, it doesn't seem like work."

"You sound very much like my daughter; she has said something similar about her own career."

Klaus couldn't help but smile a little bit at the statement. "I take that as a compliment. I know how much Caroline loves her job."

"Yes she does, which makes me very curious about you since she has decided to put her career at risk to have a relationship with you." Bill declared.

The older man watched him curiously after his bold declaration. Klaus knew he was waiting for a reaction of some kind, possibly defensive, or apologetic even but he kept his face calm and gave no indication of the nervousness he did indeed feel inside. Caroline was very close to her father and he didn't want Bill to dislike him because it would create issues but he also wasn't going to appear weak willed either. If the situation was reversed, he would not want his daughter's beau to appear cowardly, he could not respect him then.

"As soon as Caroline told me the other night that she had come clean to you about the two of us, I expected to see you." Klaus stated.

"So you aren't surprised by my visit?"

"I didn't expect it to be here, I thought you might show up at the house when you knew Caroline was gone or possibly call me to meet you." He answered.

"Really?"

"Yes, because I would have done the same thing in your place if it was my daughter." Klaus declared honestly. He moved forward so that he could look Bill in the eye before he spoke again. "I could stand here and try to defend myself and my actions, but I won't."

"The only thing I can tell you is that I'm not the kind of man or father who treads into relationships lightly, as a matter of fact I haven't been involved with anyone since my divorce. My focus since has been my children, I didn't want them to get hurt by my dating. But when Caroline came into our lives, and I spent time with her, I found my resolve crumbling."

"The fact that she works for you wasn't enough of a deterrent?"

"Not with Caroline. I'm sure she said the same thing but I was aware that I was attracted to her from the beginning but pushed it away. It was spending time with her, getting to know her that was my weakness. Once I found out that she felt the same, the wall crumbled and I did whatever I could to convince her to give us a chance. It took some time but I managed to do it and I don't regret it a bit." Klaus acknowledged. "I know that our relationship is not something you would want for her, but I promise you as one father to another that I have nothing but honorable intentions with her. This isn't about me taking advantage of our living situation; this is about her and my caring for her."

Bill stared at him for several moments, his blue eyes that looked very much like Caroline's, studying him and absorbing what Klaus told him before he spoke. "I can tell that she is happy here, that you and your children are primarily responsible for that, so as long as it stays that way, then I have no problem with the two of you."

Bill stuck out his hand to shake Klaus', which Klaus did, and he used it to pull him closer. "However if you hurt her, and ruin her life, you will really see a protective father. She has been through too much to get hurt again."

Klaus nodded at the threat. "I will do my best to make sure that doesn't happen."

"I certainly hope so." Bill replied sternly. "Now that all of that business is out of the way, could I interest you in going out and having a drink with me? I really would like to get to know you more."

"It would be my pleasure, I know just the place." Klaus agreed.

"Oh, and one more thing." Bill interjected. "Caroline doesn't need to know about this part of my visit, we'll just keep it between us."

Klaus knew exactly why Bill wanted to keep it between them, Caroline would not be happy if she knew that her father had visited him with the intention of protecting his daughter's heart. She was extremely independent and would see it as Bill treating her as a child. He smirked at the other man's statement before agreeing. "I see no reason to tell her."

Bill smiled back at him, "Good answer."

**Haha, what did you guys think? **

**Next part will start their trip to Disney but of course nothing ever goes to plan.**


	40. Part 39 Wake up Call

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies, how are we today?**

**Your reviews have blown me away. I want to thank each and every one of you for every review you have left me. It came to my attention this week that this story is ranked 5th in highest amount of reviews out of all TVD fanfictions on this site, one of only two Klaroline fics in the top 5, the other one being Prowl which we all know is an amazing Klaroline story so that humbles me a lot. If it wasn't for you guys, that wouldn't have happened. **

**And speaking of reviews, it was great to see that you all loved Bill and Stephen's visit. On the show, until she became a vampire I think they showed that Caroline was close to her father so I had to elaborate on that in this story and he seemed like a very upfront and frank kind of guy so I couldn't see him beating around the bush when it came to finding out what was going on between Caroline and Klaus. Caroline had to get her bluntness from somewhere after all. **

**To Sam: Thank you for the proposal, but I'm taken ;)**

**Also, some of you might not know it but I have also written and finished another Klaroline story called The Memory Remains. check it out and let me know what you think.**

**Thanks to klarolineepiclove and a-little-blonde-distraction for helping me with this part, their encouragement kept me going despite my frustrations and Cecevolume for her betaing skills. **

**Okay, now I'll shut up and let you read the part. Enjoy.**

Part 39 Wake up Call

_*Knock**Knock*_

"Dad."

_*Knock**Knock*_

"Dad."

_*Knock**Knock*_

"Dad."

Klaus came awake to the sound of persistent knocking and jiggling of the doorknob to his bedroom door as well as the sound of his children's voices calling to him. He was confused for a moment as to why they were still outside of his door rather than barging their way in until he opened his eyes and saw a familiar mess of blonde hair next to him.

He bolted upright at the sight and looked at the clock. It was past eight, no wonder the twins were at his door. "I'm up, guys, just hang on a minute."

His shout caused Caroline to stir next to him and he quickly placed his hand over her mouth to stop her from making any sound. She jumped at the feel of his hand but when her eyes opened and she saw it was him, she calmed though she looked confused.

"Why is the door locked, Dad?" Henry asked as the doorknob jiggled again.

Caroline's eyes widened in shock at the sound of his son's voice and he knew that she has reached the same conclusion he had, they had overslept. He had talked her into sleeping in his bed with him the night before, just as they had a couple of other nights, with the condition that the alarm be set so that they got up before the twins. He remembered setting the alarm, but it seemed to have failed.

Klaus placed his index finger over his lips and when Caroline nodded in understanding, he withdrew his hand from her mouth as he spoke. "Sorry, I must have done it by accident last night."

"But you never lock the door." Henry called back.

He closed his eyes in frustration at his son. He was telling the truth, as far as Henry knew he never locked his bedroom door, it was something he had only started recently when he and Caroline were alone inside. "Maybe I bumped it last night. Give me a second."

The two of the climbed out of Klaus' bed as quickly and quietly as they could. Caroline was thankful that she had put on her pjs back on the night before, at least she wouldn't have to search out her clothes and dress. No, all she had to do was figure out how she was going to get out of there without being spotted.

Caroline looked around quickly and spotted the door to his bathroom. It was either there or the closet. She motioned at the door to Klaus and he nodded in understanding before slipping a t-shirt over his head. She had barely moved two steps when she heard Lexi's voice.

"Dad? Do you know where Caroline is? She's not in her room."

"Maybe she's downstairs?" He answered, looking at her as the blonde in question froze, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Things just got more complicated.

"Nope, we already checked." Lexi answered.

"She must be out. You know she has a lot of stuff she wanted to do before we leave tomorrow." Klaus called back with a shrug of his shoulders when Caroline glared at him. Now not only was she going to have to sneak down to her room and change, but she was going to have to get out of the house without them finding out and then return as if she'd be running errands. He was so going to pay for that.

Klaus cringed a bit at the cold stare Caroline threw at him before she disappeared behind his bathroom door. Once he knew she was secured, he went to his bedroom door, unlocked it and threw it open. As expected, Lexi and Henry were on the other side, still dressed in their pajamas and looking very annoyed. "You know I would think that two kids who are leaving on their dream trip tomorrow would look a tad bit happier."

"You locked the door." Henry stated.

"Now it's unlocked and I'm awake." Klaus replied.

"Yeah, but we didn't know it was locked and we came running up here. When the door didn't open, I ran into it and Henry crashed into me." Lexi explained. "It hurt."

Klaus tried to hold back a smile when Henry nodded in agreement with his twin. "Well if you're hurt, maybe we should postpone the trip? We wouldn't want you to suffer when you're on vacation."

"NO!" Both of the twins yelled at the same time.

"We're fine." Henry added. "We promise. We can still go."

"Only if you're sure." Klaus looked at them, as if he was checking them over to make sure they weren't injured. They both nodded quickly and he did as well. "Glad that is settled."

"Can we have breakfast now?" Lexi asked. "You said you would make us Mickey Pancakes."

"I did, didn't I?" Klaus replied, internally cursing himself for momentarily forgetting. He had known that there would be no living with the twins' excitement for the trip with them leaving tomorrow so he and Caroline had tried to come up with things to keep them occupied throughout the day when they weren't packing. And the first one on the list had been a Mickey Themed breakfast. "Okay, go down to the kitchen and I'll be there shortly."

The twins looked at him curiously. "Why?"

"Because I said so, now go." He retorted. As soon as the twins scampered away and down the stairs, he turned around and headed to the door to this bathroom. He knocked lightly before speaking. "Coast is clear, love."

The door opened then, and Caroline glanced towards the door hesitantly before she slipped out. "That was close, almost too close."

"Thankfully the lock worked even if the alarm clock didn't." He commented.

Caroline nodded in agreement. "We need to be more careful next time, maybe set the alarms on our phones as well."

Klaus smiled a little as he grabbed her arm and tugged her close to him. When her soft body collided with his, her arms automatically came up to loop around his neck as he looked down into her eyes. "You're forgetting that as soon as tomorrow they will know about us and we won't need to hide."

She laughed a little as she spoke. "I can't believe after all of the sneaking around and planning we've done to make sure this all goes according to plan, we almost get caught due to oversleeping."

"I blame you for keeping us up late last night." Klaus declared jokingly.

"Excuse me? I'm not the one who couldn't keep his hands to himself last night. Maybe if you had then I could have finished up with my stuff a bit earlier." Caroline said indignantly.

"You were taking too long." He argued.

"And now thanks to your grabby hands, I have to figure out a way to get of the house without the twins seeing me." She stated. "Thank you very much."

"How can I acquit myself?" Klaus asked as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, his hands massaging her hips.

"Well you're doing a good job so far." Caroline mumbled as she returned his kiss. She felt him smile against her lips at the same time she heard two little gasps of surprise. They jerked away from each other and looked at the door, where Lexi and Henry were staring at them open mouthed.

"Um, I found Caroline." Klaus declared, not knowing what else to say at the moment as he looked at his shocked children.

"Morning." Caroline said as she looked over at the gaping twins and waved sheepishly. She pulled away from Klaus' arms and took a step back.

Neither of the twins said a thing, just continued to stare at them open-mouthed. He could see by the looks on their faces that they were in a state of disbelief, trying to come to terms with exactly what they had walked in on. He knew it must have been quite a shock blow to them, they had never seen him kissing a woman and here they had walked in on him kissing Caroline. Klaus couldn't help but chuckle a little at them. "I think this is the first time I've ever seen the two of you this quiet when you weren't sleeping."

"Caroline's here," Henry stated breaking the silence. "In your room."

"Yes, she is." Klaus replied.

"Did she just get up here?" Henry asked. "Because we didn't see her on the stairs."

"No. She didn't." Klaus answered, not wanting to lie anymore now that they had been caught.

"So she was sleeping in here." Henry acknowledged as he looked at Caroline, motioning to her pajamas.

"Yes, she was."

"You were kissing her," Lexi declared looking from her father to Caroline. "And she was kissing you."

"That means you guys are together, right?" Henry asked, enthusiasm seeping into his voice instead of the confusion that had been there.

"How about we go downstairs and get started on those pancakes and talk?" Klaus requested, deciding it was best to explain everything at once as opposed to just giving a few short answers.

"Actually, maybe it would be better if the three of you stay here, while I go and get breakfast going? That way you can have some privacy." Caroline suggested. She knew that Klaus was trying to include her but she thought that it might be better if he talked to the twins by themselves. It was something that they had discussed before when they were planning on how to best to tell them about their relationship though they had still not reached an agreement. Now they had run out of time.

Some people might find it odd that Caroline thought she shouldn't be there but she didn't want the twins to think she was intruding. She remembered how she felt when her own father had come to tell her about Stephen and she couldn't imagine how much harder it would have been if Stephen had been there with him.

"Caroline…" Klaus started but she shook her head in response.

"No, it's okay. The four of us can talk later, right now I know that they just need to talk to you and not worry about me." She told him before she headed to go downstairs. When she reached the door, she turned and smiled a reassuring smile before leaving. She didn't know how long they might be and she contemplated changing into some regular clothes but decided against it since she wouldn't be the only one dressed in her pajamas and headed down to the kitchen.

Once Caroline had disappeared, Klaus sat down on the corner of his bed and motioned to Henry and Lexi. "Come and sit."

The two of them scampered over before climbing onto the foot of the bed next to him. When they were settled, Klaus spoke. "I know you walking in and finding Caroline and I together was a bit of a shock, and you guys probably have questions."

Both of the twins nodded as he went on. "Henry, you asked the first one a few minutes ago, you asked if Caroline and I were together and the answer to that is yes, we are."

"So you guys are boyfriend and girlfriend?" Henry asked.

"Yes." Klaus replied.

"YES! Finally!" Henry exclaimed as his face lit up in a smile and he bounced a little on his father's bed. "Does that mean you guys are going to get married? Is she going to be our mom?"

Henry was firing off his questions so fast that it was making Klaus' ears hurt a bit. "No, it doesn't."

Disappointment was evident on Henry's face and his shoulders drooped at his father's answer. "But if you guys are together, you love each other and when grownups love each other they get married."

"No it doesn't, it means that they go out on dates and stuff." Lexi snapped at her brother. "Right, Dad?"

"Pretty much." He replied, a little surprised at the harshness in his daughter's voice.

"So you don't love Caroline?" Henry asked.

His son's innocent inquiry hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest. He should have expected one of them to ask that question but hadn't. As for his feelings regarding Caroline, well now was not the time to explore where that discussion could lead. Not when he hadn't completely explored that area himself. "I care about Caroline very much, as much more than a friend, which is why we are dating. There are times when adults are just friends and other times when that friendship becomes more, like it did with the two of us."

"Henry, you need to understand that just because two adults are seeing each other doesn't mean that they are going to get married. I mean, Aunt Rebekah dated before she married Stefan, didn't she?" Klaus questioned his son.

"Yeah, Alexander. I'm glad she didn't marry him, he was weird and kind of scary." Henry answered. "One time it was dark outside and when he walked by, I thought he was Bigfoot."

Klaus smiled at his son's very accurate description of his sister's former beau. None of his family had been particularly fond of Alexander and they were all very happy when she had called things off with him. "Do you understand what I mean though, Henry?"

Henry replied with a nod before Lexi spoke up. "So how long have you and Caroline been lying and sneaking around?"

Again, Lexi's words surprised him, she sounded very upset and angry. "Lexi, we weren't lying to you."

"But you didn't tell us, isn't that lying?" Lexi asked.

"We chose not to tell the two of you until we were ready." Klaus explained. "And to answer your question, Caroline and I started dating after Aunt Rebekah's wedding."

Lexi frowned a little as she absorbed his answer. "So if Henry and I hadn't come back upstairs, you weren't going to tell us for a while still?"

"We planned to tell you tomorrow once we were settled at the hotel but oversleeping this morning and you finding us has made that plan unnecessary." He replied. "I'm sorry that you found out the way you did, but I'm glad that you know now."

"So what happens now?" Henry asked.

"What do you mean?" Klaus replied.

"Well now Caroline is your girlfriend, is she going to be our nanny too?" Lexi inquired. "Will she still be taking care of us?"

"She's not going to move out, is she?" Henry butted in.

"Calm down, if I have anything to say about it Caroline won't be going anywhere." Klaus assured them. He briefly thought about the compromise he had agreed to with Caroline regarding her continuing to work for him but thought there was no point in saying anything about it to them, not when he believed that nothing would come of it. "She is going to keep living here, and looking after you, that part won't change. She cares about the two of you a lot, and that has nothing to do with me and her."

Henry grinned big at his father's words and Lexi also smiled, though her smile seemed a bit off to him. "I'm not saying things aren't going to be different because they are. She's not only going to be your nanny but also the woman I'm seeing, which is not something the three of us have experienced before. As you saw, Caroline and I kiss as well as show affection in other ways so things are most likely are going to be a little peculiar at times, but we'll figure it out as we go along. Does that sound okay to you two?"

"Yes, Dad." They answered in unison.

By the expressions on the twins' faces, Klaus knew that they understood the weight of his words, at least as much as two seven year olds could. He had always done his best to ensure that his children knew that his world primarily revolved around them and that he wanted them to be nothing but happy. As much as he wanted to be with Caroline, he would give her up if his children asked him to. He waited as they both thought over what he said, the room silent until Henry spoke. "It's okay Dad, I love Caroline and I don't mind her being your girlfriend too."

"That's good to know son." Klaus stated before looking at his daughter. "What about you Lexi?"

"I agree with Henry, I like you being with Caroline." Lexi answered.

Due to her earlier reactions, Klaus didn't entirely believe her. "Are you sure? I don't want you to believe that you have to say you are fine with it just because your brother is. You acted mad just a bit ago."

"Not mad, it hurt that you didn't tell us." Lexi stated. "But I do like you being with Caroline. You're two of my favorite people in the whole world."

Klaus smiled at both of them before opening his arms for them to give him a hug. They both rushed forward to do just that. He held them for a couple of minutes, before Henry spoke up. "Can we go eat breakfast now? I'm still hungry."

He chuckled at how quickly his son's priorities changed before he nodded. "Yes, we can. I'm sure Caroline has a huge stack of pancakes piled high just for you."

"Whoo hoo!" Henry hollered before jumping off of his father's lap and racing towards the door.

Klaus watched as Lexi just rolled her eyes at her twin before standing up to head after him, but grabbed her father's hand first and tugged on it to get him to come with her. He obediently followed her downstairs until they got to the kitchen. Once there, they were met with Caroline's smiling face. "There you two are, I was just telling Henry that I just got the sausage finished so it's time to eat. I put the pancakes in the oven to stay warm so let me just pull them out and we can get started."

"Lexi, go ahead and sit down, I'll help Caroline." Klaus instructed as he nudged her towards the table before heading towards the coffee pot. Caroline stood nearby as he poured himself a mug, putting the finishing touches on the meal.

"How did it go?" She whispered inquisitively. Though it had been her choice to leave them alone, Caroline had been dying of curiosity as she had cooked. .

"It went well. Lexi was a bit upset and angry, but she didn't have any objection to us." Klaus answered quietly.

"She seems okay now." Caroline observed as she looked over and watched the girl chattering away with her brother. "Maybe she was just a little jealous at the thought of sharing you; she's had you all to herself for so long."

"I guess it's possible." He responded. "It's going to be an adjustment for them but we'll figure it out."

"I can't believe they caught us." She giggled as she recalled the look of shock on their little faces.

"Well at least now they know and I can do this," Klaus said as he reached over and pecked her on the lips, "without a problem."

"Hmmm, yes you can." Caroline said with a smile before she shoved the large plate stacked with pancakes into his stomach. "But you better get these over to the table before we have a mutiny on our hands."

"We wouldn't want that would we, love?" Klaus replied as he took the plate and his mug and headed over to the table.

**Once Caroline sat down to join them, she looked around the table before saying, "Now that all of the excitement of the morning is over, is everyone ready to leave tomorrow?"**

**So what did you guys think about the kids' reactions? What about Klaus willing to give up Caroline if his kids asked him to? I know some of you might not agree with that, but his stand on the matter mirrors my own when I was a single mom so I couldn't write it any other way. **

**I just want to apologize for them not being at Disney yet. My intention was to have them arriving at the end of this part but since it took me so long to write the twins' reactions, I decided to end it here instead so I could post. Next part, I swear they will be there and we are going to start with some fun in the pool!**


	41. Part 40 Their First Day

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello lovelies, look! I updated early. **

**I'm happy to see that everyone was pleasantly surprised that the twins found out early, I hadn't planned on it originally, Caroline was supposed to be able to sneak out unnoticed but I changed my mind awhile back and you all seemed to like it. I'm also pleased that you all seemed to like the talk between Klaus and the twins. And those of you are curious about Lexi, it will be explained. **

**Speaking of which, some people had messaged me asking about Lexi and I replied that you would find out in the next part i.e. the one below but then once I started writing it, the part kind of got away from me and decided to put it off to the next one. I apologize for that! **

**To the people who leave Guest reviews, I know you are worried that I'm not getting them but I am! They come through via email but don't show up on the site for a couple of days for some weird reason.**

**To Sam: Yes, my hubby and thank you**

**To Claire: Welcome and thank you very much!**

**Thanks to klarolineepiclove, and approvesomuch or their help. And Cecevolume for being my wonderful beta! And nfinneman for the beautiful coverart.**

**I have a request from you guys, when you read Henry and Lexi, are their particular child actors that stick out to you? If they do, can you leave it in your review who they are? I would appreciate it. **

**WARNING: MATURE RATING FOR THIS PART.**

Part 40

"Caroline, I can see the pool!" Henry yelled as he tugged on the blonde's hand towards the doors that lead to the object of his excitement.

"No, Caroline, look!" Lexi exclaimed at the same time, pulling her other hand towards the hotel gift shop. "They have princess t-shirts and tiaras!"

"And there's an arcade! Can we go? They have a ton of games." Henry announced.

"No, we need to go to the store first and see what else they have." Lexi retorted.

"Hang on a minute, if you guys keep tugging on me like this, I'm going to snap like the wishbone at Thanksgiving." Caroline declared as she pulled both of the kids towards her before they could yank her arms out of their sockets. "We'll explore everything, I promise, but right now why don't we just sit here and wait for your dad. He's only going to be a few minutes checking in and then we can go to our room. You don't want to haul our luggage with us everywhere do you?"

Both of the twins shook their heads in agreement, but still looked upset that they had to hang back. Thankfully, Caroline spotted something that might keep their attention for a few minutes; it was an area that looked to be set up for just such an occasion. "It looks like that TV is playing some old Mickey cartoons and they have stuff you can color; do you want to sit there while we wait?"

While the suggestion wasn't their heart's desire, the kids seemed okay with it. They rushed over to the table to see what was available to color and Caroline took a deep breath. She felt like she'd been going nonstop since the morning before when the twins had unexpectedly caught them. They had begun breakfast talking about the trip but the conversation had quickly turned towards the newly revealed information about herself and Klaus .

The twins were very curious about their relationship, asking questions about if Caroline was going to be moving into Klaus' room or if it meant she would spend all of her time with them or not. They explained that while the two of them would be sharing a room on the trip, Caroline would still be living in her current bedroom and, while she would be spending more time with them, she would still be going about her life like she had before.

It was during this time that they also told the twins that the rest of the family did not know, that they were the first to be told, and that they needed to keep it a secret until they returned. They were excited about that and liked the idea that they were privy to information that others weren't.

If that hadn't been exhausting enough, they had spent the rest of the day packing and doing other chores that needed to be done before they left as well as the activities Caroline had planned for them until it was time for bed. Not that any of them had actually been able to get much sleep, the excitement was too thick in the air.

Unfortunately, the four of them had an eight o'clock flight, which meant they had to get up early to get to the airport. Klaus had someone once again take them to the airport and Caroline was very thankful that it hadn't been Dean. The flight had been uneventful, except for the two almost eight year olds who were so rambunctious that they acted as if they had both drank a case of Mountain Dew.

She had found it sweet; Henry and Lexi had traveled to a lot of places with their father from what she knew but, according to him, they never acted like this. Caroline knew it was due to the destination and she couldn't blame them, she was excited too.

Caroline kept an eye on the kids as well as their luggage as she wandered around the lobby a bit. It was nice and cool, an escape from the warm humid air outside that had her tank top sticking her a bit. The interior was beautiful, pale yellow walls with white trim; comfortable wicker furniture throughout along with tile floors; it reminded her of the pictures she had seen of the beach houses along the coast of New England which she knew was what Disney had been going for with it. It gave her a feeling of tranquility that she appreciated after the chaos it was to get there.

As she strolled around, she came across a small area that reminded her of Klaus' studio, it had a canvas and various paints, assorted portraits and a sign that said the man sitting there sketching would do portraits for a charge.

She glanced over his work briefly before he spoke, "Would you like to have a portrait done? I can have one done for you very quickly."

Caroline opened her mouth to reply but before she could, a familiar accented voice answered for her. "Mate, if you think you could possibly draw a portrait that would hold a candle to the beauty of this subject in less than a few hours, you are sorely mistaken."

Unable to keep the smile off of her face at his compliment, she glanced back over her shoulder to where Klaus had walked up behind her before looking back at the man in front of her. "Thank you, but no. Your work is lovely, but I don't think my artist would like anyone drawing me except for him."

The man nodded in understanding, smiling pleasantly before he returned to his work. Caroline turned then to face Klaus before saying. "That was quick."

"Well love, you had already filled in all of the information that they required up front so checking in was simply a matter of getting the keys to our rooms." Klaus explained, holding up the four credit card looking objects that had their names on them. "They asked if we wanted our luggage delivered to our suite, however I thought it would be best if we took it with us, since the twins' swimwear is packed and I have no doubt that they plan to be in the water before it could be brought."

Caroline laughed. "Actually, I think they might have snuck them on under their clothes, but I have no problem hauling this stuff a little further."

They called over Henry and Lexi then, telling them it was time to go. They were reluctant at first to leave their drawings but Caroline told them that they could easily finish them up later with the crayons they had brought with them. After a few minutes walk as well as one elevator ride, they arrived at the door to their suite.

After Lexi opened it for them, they went inside. The entrance brought them right into the main living space of the suite, which was very open. It started first with the kitchen area, which was complete with all appliances as well as a sturdy wood table for four, then flowed into the living room. From where they were standing, there were two doors on either side of them that lead to the bedrooms.

"Well, what do you think?" Caroline asked nervously. "I know it's not as large as the condo in Barbados..."

"Where's our room?" Henry interrupted excitedly.

"It should be that way," She pointed to the door on their right. Both of the kids dropped their bags on the spot and ran for their room.

Caroline looked over at Klaus to see what he thought of the room. "I know you saw it online, but what do you think?"

"I think it's wonderful. Plenty of room for the four of us for the small amount of time we will be here." He commented. Caroline saw that he was about say more when a loud voice from the other room interrupted them.

"Cool! There's a bed inside the couch!" Henry exclaimed. "I call it!"

"You can't call it!" Lexi shouted back. "Dad!"

"You two will have to switch each night, that's the only fair way." Klaus called into them. He heard the two of them grumbling but neither offered any further argument on the matter so he turned his attention to Caroline. "So I assume that the other doorway is for our room?"

Caroline nodded as she headed through the doorway, dragging her suitcase behind her. As they walked into the master suite, there was a large bathroom, complete with a large jet tub and stand up shower stall before they reached the bedroom. Klaus noticed that not only did they have a large king size bed, but he liked what he saw in the bathroom as well.

Caroline saw the smirk on Klaus' face as well as the look in his eye and knew he was thinking less than innocent thoughts. "What is going through your mind, Klaus?"

"I was just thinking that both the tub and shower look plenty big enough for two." Klaus declared boldly.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his innuendo, though she had thought of it herself when she had seen pictures of the suite online. "Oh really?"

He nodded. "And I couldn't help but notice that we have an entire common room between our bedroom and theirs."

"Down boy, let's see if we have any energy left after chasing your children around the Happiest Place on Earth and going through endless amount of lines for the rides first." Caroline teased.

"I have no doubt that I will have plenty of energy to ravish you." Klaus taunted as he moved in front of her, lightly brushing his lips with hers before saying. "And there's one ride you can go on as many times as you want without worrying about a line."

Her breath caught in her throat at his implication, knowing exactly what 'ride' he was referring to, as her body heated up. She knew then that she had spoken too soon, they would find the energy for each other no matter what the day was like. Caroline leaned forward, pressing her lips more firmly against his to show him what she thought of his idea. He reciprocated enthusiastically and moved to deepen the kiss when they heard two little throats clearing.

"You guys aren't going to do that the entire trip are you?" Lexi asked sounding very annoyed.

"Yeah, we're here to have fun, not kiss girls." Henry stated.

"Henry, one day you will find that kissing girls is fun." Klaus replied cheekily to his son and laughed when he made a face of disgust.

"What about Lexi? Aren't you going to tell her that she is going to think kissing boys is fun?" Caroline asked.

Klaus' laughter died instantly at the thought. "No, because that's not going to happen for a very very long time."

"Well that's not very fair." Caroline teased.

"Never said I was." Klaus declared before turning back to his children. "Now what can we do for the two of you?"

"We want to go swimming." Lexi announced. "Can we? Or are we going to go to one of the parks?"

"Your dad and I thought we'd just stay around the hotel tonight since we've been traveling all day and go to the parks tomorrow." Caroline answered.

"And since it's still too early for dinner, we should unpack first." Klaus said nonchalantly. When he saw the disappointed looks on the twins' he added, "So that we can find our swimming gear and head down to the pool."

"YES!" The two yelled before they started yanking off their T-shirts and shorts.

Caroline couldn't help but laugh when she saw that she had been right about the kids wearing their swimsuits under their travelling clothes. In less than thirty seconds, they were stripped down to their suits and set to go. "Ready."

Klaus shook his head in amazement at the two of them. "I should have guessed that you would be prepared. However, Caroline and I still need to get changed, so why don't you go take your luggage that you discarded by the front door into your rooms and unpack while we get changed."

"Fine," Henry said with a pout. "But don't take too long."

"We won't, I promise." Caroline assured him before they left. She grabbed her own suitcase and placed it on the nearby rack so that she could open it and find one of her own swimsuits. Knowing that the kids had been as excited about the pool as going to the parks and would therefore want to spend as much time in the water as possible, she brought along more than one suit. She had the one that she had bought for Barbados as well as a modest pink polka dotted bikini. She might not have to worry looking professional on this trip but they would be swimming with the kids and she didn't want to have a wardrobe malfunction while in the pool.

Deciding to go with the bikini, she pulled it out of her bag and noticed Klaus messing with his own luggage in an attempt to find swimwear. She decided it would probably be safer if she changed in the other room so she headed towards the adjoining bathroom. After stripping out of her sweaty, dusty travel clothes, Caroline quickly pulled on the boy shorts and bikini top, before pulling her hair up into a high messy ponytail and left the bathroom. When she walked back into the bedroom, she stopped mid-step at the sight before her.

In the few minutes she had been changing, Klaus had changed out of his regular clothes and now wore only a pair of dark blue swim trunks. They were by no means revealing, and she had seen him many times now with far less on but the trunks hung just right on him, low around his hips and the effect made his muscled torso look even longer and alluring. He must have heard her return because he looked up at that moment and noticed her staring at him. "Something wrong, love?"

"No, not at all." Caroline shook her head as she let her eyes drop again to look over his body, making sure that he was aware of what she was doing before she spoke again. "I was just thinking about that offer for a ride that you made earlier."

"Oh you were, were you?" Klaus replied, his voice sounding a bit huskier to her as his eyes raked over her form. She looked a combination of adorable and sexy in her pink bikini, her full breasts completely covered but showing an enticing amount of cleavage, while the little boxy shorts covered her pert bottom.

She bit her lip as she nodded again. "Yes, I was thinking that maybe we should get a rope or something."

"Whatever for?" He asked sounding surprised.

"Well, so I can tie up all of the women who are going to want to get in line for a ride on you, of course." Caroline replied, laughing as she ducked out of their room before he could respond.

/

The pool was one of the main reasons Caroline had picked this particular hotel out of all that was available. The main pool was huge, more like a mini water park than a pool, complete with a long water slide at the top of a pirate ship and she knew that any kid would love it, hell she loved it and she hadn't been a kid for a long time.

As they walked around the pool area, trying to find a vacant spot where they could drop their things, Caroline saw various women glancing up at them, staring for a moment before looking away and she knew without a doubt that they were checking out Klaus. She couldn't blame them a bit, he was an unbelievably gorgeous man but that didn't stop her from slipping her hand into his, making sure that everyone knew he was taken.

Ever since they had arrived at the airport that morning, the two of them had stopped acting as if they weren't dating. They could do simple things like hold hands, put their arms around each other or simply just touch the other without the stares of those around them. It was a new experience and she had found it very freeing. While she had been all for the two them keeping things quiet, she also liked being able to act like any other couple with him. She was very much looking forward to when they returned home and telling everyone. She knew that Klaus' family would most likely be happy as would Bonnie but she wasn't sure about how Elena would take the news. Or her own mother, but she would deal with that when the time came and enjoy this time away.

They finally found a spot that would work and quickly dumped their towels and things. After a quick application of sunblock, which Klaus of course helped her with, Caroline and he followed after the twins to the edge of the pool. The entry points to the pool were different than any other she had been in before, instead of stairs or a later, the bottom just gradually sloped down and you walked in.

"It's just like the ocean." Henry exclaimed as they waded in. "There's sand and everything!"

Henry was right; the bottom of the pool had a sandy bottom, just like the ocean or a lake but a lot cleaner. "Well, at least here I won't have to worry about little fishes nibbling on my legs again."

Klaus and Lexi only smiled at her as she glared at them, remembering the trick they had pulled on her during their first trip to the ocean in Barbados. "Flash those dimples at me all you want, I still plan to get revenge."

"I think I like this vicious side of you, sweetheart," Klaus replied teasingly.

"We'll see how much you like it when I get you back." Caroline retorted as she walked with Henry into the water.

It seemed to Caroline that the four of them explored every inch of the pool over the next couple of hours, they played in the shallow water with the sand, and the waterfalls, went down the slide more times than she could count and were currently relaxing in the lazy river, floating along on inner tubes.

"Please, Caroline…" Lexi begged from her spot in the inner tube that she was sharing with Henry. "Dad won't go again."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but a dozen times is more than enough for me." Klaus replied, his hand running up Caroline's leg from his spot next to her. The twins were sharing one inner tube, and the adults each had their own, but he had pulled her leg into his lap so to stay close to her while she had her arm resting against the twins' tube.

"Just one more time." Henry asked.

Caroline looked at their pleading faces, and knew there was no saying no. "Fine, but only one more time, it's almost time to go get something to eat."

As the kids whooped and hollered, Klaus just shook his head. "You are an easy mark and they know it."

"Look who's talking." She replied with a smile. "Are you going to stay here? Or go with us and watch?"

"I think I'll stay here, enjoy the water." Klaus answered.

"Okay, your loss." Caroline called to him as she and the twins got out of the water and headed towards the slide.

Klaus watched the three of them walk away, the sight of them bringing a smile to his face. It was a huge relief to him that the twins accepted him and Caroline together. True, Lexi still seemed a little off about them, nothing he could put his finger on though. She didn't say anything to him or treat Caroline any differently, but there were times when he saw something on her face while looking at them that made him wonder.

He laid his head back and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of floating along the current. He wasn't sure how many laps he made around the river while he waited for them to come back, he was so relaxed he felt like he could go to sleep at any moment. Then suddenly Klaus felt himself being lifted into the air before suddenly being dumped into the water he had just been floating on.

It only took him a few seconds to recover before he was back up to the surface, gasping a bit for air and wiping the water away from his eyes. As he did, he heard Caroline's musical laugh, as well as his children's giggles. Klaus turned in the direction of the sound and saw them still laughing, with mischievous glints in their eyes.

"Oops." Caroline said, though he could tell that she was anything but apologetic. "I guess you must have hit a large wave or something."

"A wave, huh?" Klaus asked.

Caroline saw the look on his face and knew she was in trouble. She glanced down at the twins before yelling to them. "Run!"

/

Klaus came into the bedroom, stripping his clothes off until he was just in his boxers. He had just put the twins in bed, and he guessed that Caroline was in the shower by the sound of it. He was just thinking about joining her when he heard the water turn off. Cursing his luck for missing the opportunity, he sat down on the bed against the headboard; his long legs spread out in front him as he waited for her, trying to wind down from a long day they had had.

After swimming, they had changed out of their wet suits into some dry clothes and went off to explore what they hadn't seen of the hotel as well as get dinner. They had seen everything in the hotel such as the arcade, which the twins loved, as well as the store where they had to talk Lexi out of trying to buy everything she saw, telling her that there would be plenty more stores to choose from once they were in the parks. They had ended up in a small diner type restaurant on the ground floor called Beaches and Cream. It wouldn't have been Klaus' first choice, but he had quickly been out voted by the other three with him. In the end, dinner had been a very memorable experience.

"So, did they go right down?" Klaus heard her familiar voice ask from the bathroom.

He heard the voice come closer and looked up to see Caroline standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts. Her hair was wet from her shower and she was trying to comb out the knots. He couldn't help but notice the way the shirt rose every time she did, exposing a little bit more of her curvy leg. He might have just put the twins to bed and felt exhausted himself, but he could feel his libido stirring. Not that it surprised him; he always seemed to be turned on by her.

"Yes, I think they were worried that if they didn't, we might not leave the room tomorrow." Klaus replied.

"I don't know where they got that idea," Caroline laughed as she plopped down next to him on the bed. She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss, before she settled in to lie next to him. He slid down so that he lay on his back, with Caroline spooned next to him, her arm draped over his chest. "I feel like I'm going to explode."

"Well, we did indulge in quite a bit of ice cream." Klaus remarked with a chuckle.

"It wasn't the ice cream that was the problem, it was the stuff mixed into it." She explained. After they had eaten their meals, the twins had begged for an ice cream sundae and the waitress had suggested that since there was four of them, they should get the largest sundae they had to split. They thought it was a good idea, and ordered one, but Caroline quickly realized their mistake when the waitress called out an order for 'The Kitchen Sink'.

To say what was delivered to them was a sundae was like saying that the Grand Canyon was just a canyon. The sundae had eight scoops of ice cream, maraschino cherries, hot fudge, angel food cake, brownies, oreo cookies, pound cake, a banana, sprinkles, and candy bars. She was pretty she had never seen the kids' eyes as big as they were when the monstrosity was delivered, and she was positive her eyes mirrored theirs. The two of them had dived right in, while Klaus and Caroline took their time. The twins made quite a dent before giving up and leaving it to them to finish. Normally she would have given up when she was full but most of the restaurant had been watching them and she felt compelled to finish it. Thankfully, Klaus had helped.

"I must say that the sundae was a waste of a whole can of whipped cream, I can think of much more creative ways to consume it." Klaus teased.

"I bet you can." She replied as she brought up her hand and traced the dark lines of the runes on his chest until he halted her movements by capturing her hand in his.

"That tickles, love."

Caroline smiled at his admission as she sat up. "Oh, it does, huh?"

Before he could say anything, she moved quickly to straddle his lap and brought both of her hands down to rub up sluggishly but deliberately up his sides until they were once again on his tattoo. She ran her nails over the inked flesh teasingly before she brought them down and dug them into his sides. She hit just the right spot and Klaus jumped as laughter spilled out of his mouth. "Caroline, stop it."

"And if I don't?" She replied teasingly.

"Then I'll be forced to retaliate." Klaus replied before he did just as he threatened. Caroline squealed in laughter as they rolled around on the bed. The tickling reached a crescendo before they collapsed into each other's arms, breathing heavily from the laughter and exertion.

Klaus lay on top of her, looking down at her flushed face, for a minute before he leaned down and kissed her. His hand moved up to cup her face as he pressed his body into her. Caroline tilted her head to give him better access, enjoying the taste of him that she never got enough of. They kissed leisurely, as their hands wandered over each other.

When he broke away from her mouth, his lips left the lightest of kisses against her cheek, then down her jaw, before he repeated it on the other side of her face. He found the hypersensitive spot behind her right ear, teasing the area slightly before he ran his tongue down the curve of her neck until he reached her collarbone that was accessible where his shirt had slid down. Caroline was already wriggling beneath him, as he ran his hands down to the hem of his shirt and pulled it off her body leaving her in just a pair of panties. He tossed it to the floor before replacing his mouth where he had left off.

Klaus made his way down the upper swells of her chest, loving the warm, sweet taste of her skin. Caroline gasped and arched towards his mouth, but he mischievously retracted his lips until she relaxed back onto the bed. Then little by little, using only his lips, he took gentle nipping bites of the soft flesh, over and over.

Caroline shivered when Klaus captured one of her nipples between his lips and pulled it fully into the warmth of his mouth. He teased the tight bud with the flat of his tongue before he switched to the other breast. He alternated between breasts, pulling at one with his mouth while rolling the taut nipple of the other between his fingers.

Caroline withered against his mouth, loving the feel of him but decided it was time to make him squirm. She placed her hands on his broad shoulders and pushed him back, flipping them over so that she straddled him again.

She leaned forward, running the tip of her tongue across his lips before kissing them once more. She used her fingertips to trace the lines of muscle in his shoulders, his arms, and his chest the followed the same path with her lips and tongue. She kissed his abs, loving the way his muscles tensed beneath her lips.

Pleasure was felt throughout his body as Caroline explored; her hair tickling his flesh and her hands and mouth igniting his arousal even more. Her small hands gripped the waistband of his boxers before she pulled them over his hips and down his legs until they were off. She wrapped her hand around his length, stroking him slowly as she returned her mouth to his stomach and drifted lower.

Her lips brushed over the tip of his erection briefly, before he felt her tongue running down the length of him, massaging the thick pulsing vein, causing him to groan slightly. The groan turned into a full on moan when he felt her warm wet mouth take him fully inside. Her lips were tight and demanding around his hard flesh, her tongue swirling around the head. One of her hands rested on his hip, the other one continued to stroke what her mouth could take in. She started moving her head up and down on him, her mouth full of his flesh while she sucked his cock.

As good as her mouth felt on him; he wanted to be inside her more. He weaved his hands into her hair and tugged lightly on it to get her attention. At Klaus's tugging, Caroline decided to stop teasing him and crawled back up his body. She was barely face to face when him when he flipped them over. Her back had barely hit the bed when he entered her, feeling every slick bit of her surround him as her body accepted his.

Caroline curled her hands loosely around Klaus's shoulders and his arms moved beneath their hips before he directed his gaze into her eyes as he slowly began to move. He slid in and out of her, as she rose to meet him, back and forth as flesh rubbed against flesh. Gradually the pace began to accelerate, movements becoming more vigorous, as passion flared.

As she felt the desire begin to pool inside her, Caroline's eyes closed and she arched towards him. It caused him to change his angle just slightly, hitting the perfect spot inside her, and she felt her orgasm pulse through her.

Klaus held back, wanting to see her face as release overwhelmed her. She was so beautiful and passionate, his body was screaming for release at the sight of her, but as she tightened around him he kept thrusting, drawing out her pleasure for as long as he could. He finally gave in and let go, jerking as he poured himself into her, the pleasure just as intense if not more so than any time before. They both kept moving as small aftershocks ran through them, gasping breaths washing over each other.

After their bodies calmed down, Klaus rolled off of her. He retrieved their clothes, pulling on his boxers before handing her his shirt. When she took the clothes, he laid down next to her on his side to watch her dress, his eyes feeling heavy.

Caroline dragged her hair out of the collar of his T-shirt and turned towards him, surprised to find his eyes closed. She could see his chest moving steadily and knew he was already fast asleep. Unable to resist, she ran her finger through a few of his messy curls before bringing them down along his jaw, caressing it softly before giving him a soft kiss. "Sweet dreams, Klaus."

**Well what did you think about their first day? I promise I will not write a part for every day that they are there, I could believe me I have enough material due to my many trips to Disney but I think you guys would probably get bored.**

**For those of you who are interested, I blogged some links to give you some visuals to go with this story. You can find it on my tumblr page, my url is the same as my name on here!**

**Next stop Magic Kingdom!**


	42. Part 41 The Happiest Place on Earth

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies, I'm back with another part of them at Disney. You might be surprised at how fast I updated but I'll let you in on a little secret. I started a diet last week so I've been using writing as a way to distract myself from food. Well that and writing them at Disney is super easy. Hopefully my posting quicker will continue**

**Happy to see all of your reviews telling me that you enjoyed reading their first day at Disney. Sorry if I go a little overboard with the descriptions, I love Disney and have been there many times with my family and at times I go overboard.**

**Thanks for everyone who listed child actors to me for the twins, it helped me a bunch. **

**To ilovetvd: they got dressed after the sex because the twins could come in at any time and while they are okay with them in the same room, that might be a bit tramatic for the kids. **

**Thanks to klarolineepiclove (Who deals with my text after text of ideas for this), approvesomuch (for her awesome graphics), a-little-blonde-distraction (She's always great at helping me with the sibling stuff), jomosfamilyjewels (She's a great smut checker;) and cecevolume for checking over all of my stuff to make sure my grammar, etc doesn't suck. **

**Now, onto the next part and the mystery of Lexi.**

Part 41

As they came out from under the canopy, the four of them blinked at the sudden brightness of the sun but it was a welcomed sight after the hell they had just experienced.

"Lexi sweetheart, I hope that you enjoyed yourself because we are never ever going on that ride again." Klaus declared as he looked down at his daughter, making sure that she heard the determination in his voice.

"Daddy…" Lexi protested with a roll of her eyes, as if her father was being too dramatic. "It was fun."

"I'm with your Dad on this one Lexi," Caroline spoke up. "I was totally with you on wanting to ride 'It's a Small World', it's like a rite of passage for everyone who goes to a Disney park but after being stuck in it while it was broken down for twenty minutes, I never want to hear that song again."

"But the dolls were so cute." Lexi argued.

"The animals were okay, I mean I don't think there are any real hyenas that color, but the dolls were kind of creepy, Lex." Henry stated.

Lexi's face turned into a pout at her twins' statement. "Well I liked them even if you guys didn't."

"Oh, I liked them sweetie, the costumes were beautiful, I really loved the little French cancan dancers. It was just a bit...much." Caroline clarified.

"What are we going to do now?" Henry asked as he looked at the map for what Caroline thought was the hundredth time. He loved looking at the map, seeing where they were going as well as what they had already covered. There were a couple of times they had caught him looking at it as they'd been walking and they had had to either steer him around people so that he didn't run into them or get his attention so that he would look up.

"Well we've ridden almost everything in Fantasyland but Dumbo." She acknowledged as she looked around. They had ridden everything in sight, even the Teacups.

"Is there something we can do that isn't a ride, I'm not sure if I'm up for another one just yet." Klaus asked, they had been going on ride after ride, which had been fine with him but after the last experience, he needed a break.

"It's still early enough that the character lines should still be manageable, so we can see about going to get some photos and autographs, if you want?" Caroline asked. When everyone nodded in agreement, she looked over Henry's shoulder at the map to find a character meet to go to. "There's a spot nearby where we can meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald."

Lexi's face lit up at her suggestion, apparently forgetting instantly the lack of enthusiasm from everyone else for the ride she had enjoyed so much. "Yes! We can show off our ears."

"Except Dad." Henry retorted glaring at his father.

"Sorry mate, no amount of guilt is going to get me to put on a pair of those ears." Klaus proclaimed. "Those ears only look cute on children and your father is a grown man..."

"And I'm a grown woman but I bought some." Caroline interrupted him, motioning to her own set of Minnie Mouse ears that rested on her head.

One of the first things they had done after coming through the gates at the Magic Kingdom was to visit the hat store in Town Square so to buy the twins the traditional Mickey Mouse hats. However as they waited for the employee to embroider the twins' names on their ears, pink ones for Lexi and traditional Mickey ones for Henry, Caroline found a pair of Minnie Mouse ears that she declared she had to have. They looked like the traditional ears but with Minnie's signature bow on top, which matched the red strapless sundress she had chosen to wear, and she too got her name stitched on them in loopy script.

After seeing the blonde in the spirit, the twins had tried to convince their father to buy his own pair but he flatly refused. Caroline had joined in to try and convince him, even suggesting something else like the Goofy hat however it hadn't worked and when they walked out a few minutes later, there were no ears on top of his head.

"True, but you make anything beautiful, love." Klaus replied.

Caroline laughed as she winked at him. "Nice save."

"I try." Klaus smirked back at her.

Caroline moved to give a quick peck on the mouth when she felt her arm being tugged in the opposite direction. She looked down to see that Lexi had grabbed her and was pointing at an area that looked like the back of the castle. "Caroline look! It's the Princess Fairytale Hall. Can we go meet Cinderella now?"

"I thought we were going to go show off our ears?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah but the princesses are right here." Lexi argued her face a mask of frustration as she continued to pull on Caroline's arm. "You said you would take me to meet them."

Caroline stared at Lexi, surprised by the tone in the little girl's voice. She seemed to be quite angry at her for not giving in. She was about to say something when Klaus spoke up.

"Lexi, we already agreed the four of us to go meet Mickey and his friends." Klaus stated. "We can do princesses after."

Lexi opened her mouth to no doubt argue but Klaus cut her off. "Or we can not do it at all."

"Fine." She huffed in frustration, not willing to bicker more with her father and risk not meeting the princesses at all. She stomped a few steps ahead of them to where Henry was, making sure that they knew she wasn't happy.

Caroline glanced at Klaus warily as they trailed behind them towards Pete's Silly Sideshow where the character meet and greet was located. She waited until she knew that the twins wouldn't be able to hear her before she spoke. "That was weird."

Klaus nodded. "I need to talk to her, find out what is wrong with her. She hasn't acted quite right since she found out."

Caroline thought about what he said for a minute, before suggesting. "I could do it."

"It's better that I do it."

"Maybe not." She replied. "I mean you talked to her the other day and she didn't say anything."

"True, however I didn't push her on the matter either." He reminded her. "Obviously I should have, something about us is bothering her."

"Let me talk to her." Caroline pleaded. "I've been in her shoes so to speak before; I know what she's going through."

Klaus considered Caroline's request. Perhaps it was better for her to speak to Lexi; after all she hadn't seemed to want to be honest with him. He nodded in agreement, after which she smiled back at him. "I'll talk to her whenever I think it would be best."

They arrived at Pete's Silly Sideshow then and the four of them got in line to meet the characters. Whether it was the excitement of getting the autographs or the cheerful circus atmosphere Caroline didn't know but after a few minutes, Lexi seemed to be back to her old self. The twins pointed at various things around the tent they were in, talking to Klaus about when he took them to the circus a couple of years before until they reached the front of the line and they went up to meet Goofy and Donald.

As she had most of the day, Caroline had her camera at the ready and started firing off picture after picture of the kids getting their autograph books signed. She'd even managed to talk Klaus into posing with the twins and Goofy at one point.

Caroline giggled at the sight in front of her, the twins with huge grins on their faces while Klaus looked like he was ready for it to be over with, very different from the self-portrait of the two of them she had taken earlier. He didn't seem to enjoy the characters so much. "Smiles, guys."

After a bit more coaxing from the twins, Klaus finally did smile and Caroline snapped a couple pictures just as someone next to her spoke. "Excuse me ma'am."

Caroline looked away from the viewfinder to see that one of the cast members dressed like a carnival barker standing next to her and smiling. "Yes?"

"If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to take a picture for you, that way you can be in the shot with your family." He offered while motioning over to where Henry, Lexi and Klaus were standing.

"Um, yeah sure." Caroline answered, feeling slightly taken aback at hearing the man talk about the three as her family. Sure, she had referred to them as her family before; but now, now that she was involved with Klaus, it took on a whole new meaning. One that she liked very much. She moved over to stand on the other side of Goofy, smiling widely at them as she did.

They followed the same process for the other characters though sometimes it was Klaus taking pictures of Caroline and the twins. When they reached Minnie, the female mouse waved and pointed at Caroline's headband right away. They laughed as Minnie continued to make exaggerated gestures since she couldn't speak, showing that her and Caroline looked alike.

"She's funny." Henry laughed. "And cute for a mouse."

Minnie held her hands up to her chest at Henry's words, acting as if they warmed her heart before stepping towards him, placing her hands on either side of his face and giving him a kiss on top of his head. And she didn't stop with just one, she gave him several before pulling away.

Even through her camera, Caroline could see Henry's cheeks turn bright red before he ducked his head at the character's antics. She had never seen the normally talkative outgoing boy act like that. True, sometimes he was more reserved when he first met someone but this was something new.

"I think this is the first time in his life that I've ever seen Henry embarrassed." Klaus remarked with a chuckle. "Please tell me you got a picture of that."

"I did, at least I think I did." Caroline assured him as they watched Henry try to get away from Minnie while simultaneously telling his sister, who was teasing him, to leave him alone.

"Can we go now?" Henry whined as he ducked behind Caroline to get away from the affectionate mouse. "I want to see Mickey; I know he won't kiss me."

"Hang on just a second sweetie." Caroline assured him. Once Lexi got Minnie's autograph, and thanked the mouse for embarrassing her brother, they went to the guest of honor, Mickey. Their meeting with him was far less exciting but no less memorable, after all it was Mickey, and after getting his autograph and a bunch of photos, they went back out into the park.

"How about we go see those princesses now, Lexi?" Caroline suggested to the little blonde.

Her face lit up before she started jumping up and down. "Yes, yes, yes."

"Come on, we'll leave the boys here and it will be just us girls." She said as she stuck her hand out for Lexi to take. The two of them practically skipped back the way they had came, back to Princess Fairytale hall leaving Klaus and Henry behind.

"We'll meet you at the exit." Klaus called after them, unsure until he saw Caroline waving back to him that he had even been heard. He had a feeling that his girlfriend had chosen now as the opportune time to speak to Lexi about what was bothering her. He looked down at Henry, "Well looks like we are on our own for a bit."

"Can we go to the restroom?" Henry asked. "I want to make sure I got all of Minnie's kisses off."

As the two blondes made their way to Fairytale Hall, Caroline couldn't help but gape a bit at it. It looked like it was part of the castle, with small turrets, arches, stained glass windows, and flags. They walked under the large banner that marked the name of the hall and through the archway. It forked then so that visitors could decide who they wanted to meet, and the two of them headed toward the Cinderella area before weaving their way through the lines. Lexi oohed and ahhed at the decorations, pointing at different things that made the area feel like you were walking down a royal hallway to meet real princesses. Eventually they reached the crowd that signified the end of the line and they stopped. Thankfully it wasn't too jam-packed and they should be able to move ahead shortly.

Lexi moved around, trying to see around the people in front of them to get a glimpse at the princesses beyond, unfortunately they were behind thick curtains. "Who do you think we'll meet?"

"I don't know, the sign said Cinderella and a friend or Rapunzel and a friend. We picked Cinderella, I'm assuming it will be her and one of the princesses who isn't Rapunzel so maybe Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty since Ariel and Belle have their own meeting places."

"I hope Snow White." Lexi replied.

"Yeah, she's my second favorite of the classic Princesses." Caroline stated.

Lexi looked at her confused. "Classic Princesses?"

"The older movies." She explained. The two of them continued to wait their turn, the line was moving yet slowly. Caroline watched Lexi, and while this wasn't the most private place to talk, she figured it was as good as any. "Lexi, can I ask you something?"

When Lexi nodded, Caroline asked. "Are you okay with your dad and me? With us being together as boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Yeah." Lexi answered with a shrug, her arms coming to cross over her chest. "I told Dad I was."

"I know you did, but I still wanted to make sure." She said. Caroline could see that Lexi was trying to act nonchalant about the whole talk; as if she was indeed fine with it but the way she wouldn't look her in the eye while still keeping her arms crossed told her a different story. "You know, I was nervous about telling you guys."

Lexi looked at her wide-eyed at her confession. "Really?"

"Mmmmhhmm"

"Why?"

"Because I was worried what you guys would think, of course." She answered. "You two are your dad's whole world. It means a lot to me, to both of us what you guys think. Why do you think he told you guys that if you weren't happy about us that he would call it off?"

Lexi just shrugged again as they moved forward a bit in line.

Caroline could see that she still wasn't getting through to the little girl; she wasn't going to open up to her like she usually did. So she decided to try a different angle to see if perhaps her initial suspicions were right. "You know I remember how strange it was for me when my dad told me he was dating so I can kind of understand why you might not be happy about it. If you weren't that is."

"Well I'm fine with it." Lexi stated with a huff, looking away from Caroline again. They stood in silence for a minute before Lexi spoke again. "So you weren't happy for your dad?"

Caroline tried to keep the smile off of her face at the obvious curiosity in the little girl's voice. "It was a big change for me, to share him with someone else outside of my family and for you it must be really weird. You've never seen your dad with anyone; you and your brother have always had him all to yourself and I'm sure you're worried that you might not get as much time with him. Like you feel that you are losing him."

"Or lose you." Lexi added, her voice barely above a whisper, in fact Caroline was sure that if she hadn't seen her lips moved, she wouldn't have even know that the little girl had spoken.

"Me?" She reacted with a start. When she had contemplated reasons for Lexi's behavior, it hadn't occurred to her that it might have something to do with her own relationship with the girl.

Lexi nodded. "Yeah. Some of my friends' moms and dads have boyfriends and girlfriends but they never stick around. They always date for a little while then get new ones and don't see the old ones. And I don't want that to happen."

"Oh sweetie..." Caroline sighed as things became clearer to her especially when Lexi finally looked up and met her eyes. She could see fear and worry in her sky blue eyes. Caroline kneeled down so that they were eye to eye as she reached to pull her closer for a hug.

Lexi wrapped her arms around Caroline, and hugged her tight. "I like you and Dad together, I want you and Dad together because you make him happy. But I'm scared."

"I like having another girl around, Aunt Kat, Aunt Sage, and Aunt Rebekah try but they have their own families or boyfriend and Ayanna was always like a Grandma. If you are Dad's girlfriend then you're going to leave one day and you won't be here anymore."

"Henry always talks about how since you came it's like having a mom and he's right. I hate it that he is but he is." Lexi admitted, the expression on her face showing exactly how much she hated the idea of admitting that her brother was right about something. "He kept saying that you guys could get married and then you'd never leave. I told him that you weren't going to leave because you love being with us."

"I do, I love being with you guys." Caroline pledged. It was the truth. She loved both of the kids dearly, and she had since before she had started feeling anything for their father.

"So you won't leave if you and Dad aren't dating anymore?" Lexi asked.

Caroline opened her mouth to answer but closed it just as quickly. She needed to think about the best way to answer Lexi without lying to her. She didn't want to give her empty promises by promising her to never leave. No one could predict the future of her and Klaus' relationship. "I can't promise you that Lexi. But I can tell you that I wouldn't have gotten involved with your dad and risk losing you and Henry if I didn't care a lot about him. I don't just think he's good-looking…"

Lexi's nose wrinkled at Caroline's statement, causing her to chuckle a little. "Or because I want to have a boyfriend but because I like being with him and the two of you. What I'm trying to say Lexi is that I'm not planning on going anywhere for now and I hope things work so that I won't have to."

Lexi nodded as she accepted her answer. "Can I ask you something, Caroline?"

"You can ask me anything, Lexi, always."

"Do you love my dad?"

Of all of the questions Caroline thought Lexi might ask, the one she did had never entered her mind as a possibility and she found herself speechless. She stared at the little girl's inquisitive face for a moment, as she racked her brain for an answer. Thankfully she was saved from answering.

"How many in your party?" The cast member asked as she walked up to them.

"Two." Lexi answered, her attention no longer on Caroline but the woman in front of them.

"Right this way." The cast member directed them.

Caroline followed a few steps behind Lexi, her mind on the little girl's question still. She had been able to get away with not answering, but it didn't mean it had been forgotten. Thoughts on her and Klaus kept running through her head. Things were good now, very good but it was also still new. Granted, the way they had come together had been anything but ordinary. They had already had a friendship and closeness that not a lot of new couples had. And because of that, the relationship felt much more intense than any of her previous ones.

As though a bolt of lightning hit her, Caroline was suddenly struck with how deep her feelings for Klaus were. She had known before that she had powerful feelings for him, so much so that she had risked a lot to be with him. But now, as she thought about it she realized that those feelings were much deeper, and she realized that she was falling in love with him. It wasn't something she had planned to do but somehow she had.

She found herself suddenly pulled out of her thoughts as she moved into the next room and Lexi squealed next to her. "Look Caroline, it is Snow White!"

Caroline looked up and saw that Lexi was right; indeed the other princess they were going to meet was Snow White. She pushed all thoughts of the epiphany she had just had away, and focused on Lexi. She smiled widely as she said. "You're right. Go say hi so I can get a picture for you."

Lexi enthusiastically did as she was told and headed straight to the raven haired princess. She handed her autograph book over to sign first as she started firing off question after question to her. Caroline had to hand it to the princess; she never broke character, not even when Lexi threw her off slightly asking her how the poison apple tasted. Once Lexi exhausted her questions, the two posed for a couple of pictures before the little blonde begged Caroline to join them in it.

After waving goodbye to Snow White, the pair made their way over to where Cinderella was waiting for them, a bright smile on her face. She was dressed in her blue gown from the ball scene and she looked like she had just stepped out of the movie. They were within a few feet of her when Caroline noticed that Lexi was no longer beside her. She turned around and saw her standing frozen a few steps behind her. "Lexi? What are you doing honey? I thought you wanted to meet Cinderella?"

"I do."

Caroline could tell by the wide-eyed look on the girl's face that she was a little bit awestruck at the beautiful blonde princess in front of her. She took Lexi's hand and gently tugged her forward as she turned towards the princess. "Hi Cinderella, I'm Caroline and this is Lexi. We are big fans of yours."

"Hello there," The princess replied politely before looking down at Lexi. "I see you have an autograph book, would you like me to sign it?"

Lexi could only nod in answer as she handed over her book and pen for Cinderella to sign it. Caroline stepped back to snap a few shots and tried to control her laughter at the sight of Lexi staring at Cinderella the way she was. "Lexi, don't you have some questions for Cinderella like you did Snow White?"

"What?" Lexi asked as if confused.

"Questions?" Caroline prompted as she motioned to the princess next to her. When Lexi seemed to finally snap out of her star struck daze then and started talking again, Caroline blew out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to get all of the way back outside and have Lexi be unhappy about how things went. Within a few minutes, she was all questioned out and they headed out to meet Klaus and Henry.

"There they are." Klaus announced to Henry who was sitting on the bench next to them. "See, I told you it wouldn't be that much longer."

"It still took them forever." Henry grumbled.

"It just seemed like it to you, but I assure you it, wasn't." Klaus stated waving to them when Caroline and Lexi caught sight of them. He couldn't help but notice the huge smiles on their faces as they walked towards them and could see that they had had a good time.

"Your wife and daughter look very happy." He heard a voice say.

Surprised at what he heard, Klaus' head snapped in the direction of the speaker and saw it was an older woman sitting a few inches away from them. "Excuse me."

"Sorry for spying." The woman apologized. "I just couldn't help it, your wife and daughter's smiles just look so lovely."

"No apology necessary, you just surprised me is all." Klaus commented. He didn't correct her on her calling Caroline his wife, after all he figured it was an honest mistake, though it did make his stomach do somersaults. "And thank you, they are quite lovely indeed."

"You're a very lucky man to have such a wonderful family." She continued.

"Yes, I am." He noted as the two reached them. Lexi was talking a mile a minute, telling them about meeting Snow White and Cinderella while Caroline filled in a few details.

"Can we go ride Dumbo now?" Henry requested interrupting.

"Sure we can." Klaus agreed as he stood up. He looked over to say goodbye to the woman he had been speaking to only to find she was gone.

"Who are you looking for?" Caroline asked. Klaus just shook his head and shrugged in answer as they began to walk towards Dumbo.

"Can Henry and I go by ourselves?" Lexi inquired.

"Yeah, the line isn't that long and you can see us the whole time." Henry added.

"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you?"

"Dad, we aren't babies." Henry declared.

"Never said you were, just wanted to check." Klaus stated. "Sure, go ahead. Caroline and I will be waiting for you at the exit then."

The twins nodded before dashing off to the entrance, causing Caroline to laugh. "They feel so grown up now, just by getting that little bit of freedom."

"Can't exactly blame them." He commented. "So I'm assuming by her good mood that you were able to speak to Lexi? Or was it simply due to her getting her wish and meeting Cinderella?"

"No, we talked." Caroline answered. "I was wrong, she wasn't jealous of my spending time with you, she was upset because she is scared of what might happen, of losing me if things don't work out between you and me."

Klaus let out a loud sigh. "I should have thought of that. Henry has spoken to me before about his concerns that I might do something to upset you that would make you want to leave. Granted that was before we took this step but I should have realized that it would be an ongoing concern for them."

Caroline nodded. "I was honest with her, I told her that I couldn't promise that things would always be perfect between us but I did tell her that our relationship isn't just a casual thing either. At least not for me."

"Me either, love." Klaus promised her. "I don't have any plans to let you slip away from me, not when I had to fight you tooth and nail to give me a chance."

After realizing the depth of her feelings for him, his words brought calmness to the anxieties that Caroline didn't even know she'd had. She leaned forward and kissed him firmly, before pulling back. "Good to know because I wasn't planning on slipping away."

"Really?" He questioned.

"Nope. Why would I want to leave?" Caroline asked before she leaned up to whisper in his ear. "I mean who would considering how great the sex is?"

Before Klaus could respond, Caroline turned away from him, facing the ride and giving her full attention to the twins who had reached the front of the line and were about to board. She waved enthusiastically at them as she felt Klaus step up behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his arm come up and wave as well. However it only lasted a moment before he lowered it to her hip as his other hand rested on the other one, and she felt his breath in her ear. "You are quite the tease there love."

Keeping her voice low so that it wasn't broadcasted to the other people around them, she asked. "How am I teasing when I was just stating a simple fact?"

"Very true." Klaus murmured into her ear. "However I think 'great' isn't quite an accurate description."

"And how would you describe it?" Caroline retorted.

"Fantastic, magnificent, glorious," He listed. "Mind blowing."

Caroline felt a shiver go down her back, not only because of his words but also due to the way his plump sexy lips brushed along the shell of her ear. "Klaus…."

"What love?" He asked, his voice sounding deceptively innocent.

"Stop it." She breathed out.

"Stop what? I'm not doing anything; I'm barely even touching you." He acknowledged, his lips brushing her ear again.

"You're teasing me, just like you accused me of doing." Caroline answered.

"But you have been teasing me love, ever since you walked out of our room this morning wearing this delectable little dress of yours." Klaus declared. "You know I have a thing for you in red."

"It's just a sundress." She stuttered when she felt his hands starting to massage her hips. "How can me wearing a simple sundress be such a tease?"

"Because all I can think of when I see you in it is how easily accessible you are in it." He whispered. "All I have to do is give it a quick tug, and your luscious breasts would be bare for me, so I can run my hands or my mouth along all of that beautiful exposed skin."

Caroline jumped a little when she felt his lips move down to where her neck met her shoulder and brushed lightly against her heated skin. She felt his right hand leave her hip and trail up her side until he met the bare skin of her back, running his fingertips up her spine before he continued. "Or how I could easily run my hand down over your firm ass between your milky white thighs, before sliding my fingers into your panties without anyone around us being the wiser and explore how wet you are for me."

Knowing full well exactly how those beautiful long fingers of his felt inside her body, Caroline took her bottom lip between her teeth to bite back a moan. His seductive words were doing exactly what he was intending for them to do, and she could feel the heat pooling between her thighs. Heat that had nothing to with the Florida weather.

"And once I make you cum just by touching and stroking you, I would slide your panties to the side and enter you from behind, feeling every tight inch of you wrapped around me. Once I'm completely inside of you, I would pull out painstakingly slow until I was almost out before I would thrust back in over and over again until you are screaming my name and I feel you quivering around me as you cum again." Klaus said huskily in her ear.

Caroline was practically panting by this time, her body aching for him to do exactly what he had described to her. She wanted more, she wanted him but her desire

would have to go unfulfilled for now. Especially considering the ride had ended moments before and she saw the twins running towards them.

"What's next?" She heard Henry ask.

"Ice Cream!" Caroline exclaimed. "I don't know about you but I could go for some ice cream. Cold cold ice cream."

As she rushed off with the twins to the nearest ice cream shop, she could hear Klaus chuckling behind her.

**So I hope you guys liked that? Does Lexi's attitude make sense? **

**If you have a minute, check out my tumblr page for this story. My url is livingdeadblondegirl. Approvesomuch did some 'family' photos of the trip that you just have to see!**

**I know things have gotten very smutty with Klaroline but they are still in the honeymoon phase so I hope that makes it forgivable.**

**Next part: Adults' Night Out**


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